Estado e poder tradicional na Guiné-Bissau: uma análise da (re) inserção dos líderes tradicionais de Caió no cenário político e administrativo (1991-2020)

Abstract

This study discusses the relationship between the state and traditional authorities during the post-independence period in Guinea-Bissau, seeking to identify the mechanisms by which these two actors create and recreate the political and administrative landscape. The attitude of Guinean governments towards traditional authorities has not been homogeneous – it has gained specific dynamics in different contexts. In the first decades, the government pushed traditional authorities aside and diminished their influence on the country's political and administrative landscape. In a second moment, that is, from the 1990s to the present day, traditional political leaderships have regained the attention of rulers and political parties. According to the official discourse, the revitalization of traditional leaderships results from the recognition of their importance in maintaining social balance, political decentralization, and the consolidation of local development. However, it is necessary to pay attention to other factors, such as the weak presence of the state in rural areas, which has resulted in traditional authorities' greater proximity to local populations; the multidimensional relationship they engage in; and the question of the rational calculation of advantages and disadvantages made by both parties – for the traditional leaderships the approximation constitutes an opportunity to participate in central power at the local level, and for political parties it represents an opportunity to search for more politically legitimate allies.