Classes sociais, trajetórias de vida e lugares de poder: Uma abordagem etnográfica da representação política

Assembleia da República is one of the most important sovereignty body of the Portuguese State. But what characterizes it sociologically? Based on an ethnography of the Parliament, this study proposes three arguments. The first is that political representation is socially confined: tendentially dominated by white men, qualified, with dominant formations in law, economics and management, coming from the largest urban areas and participating in a multiple political environment. Next, it is argued that individual action of the members of parliament can only be understood from its insertion in a highly hierarchical world. Finally, it is proposed that distinct class positions enhance or inhibit access and adaptation to the political field. This is a field where the unequal distribution of political capital, a form of composite capital, simultaneously cultural, social and symbolic, establishes a set of boundaries between who is inside and who is outside, between who can represent and who should be represented.