Glossary

Definitions of terms used throughout CountryReports.

This glossary contains 1,144 terms used throughout CountryReports — political, economic, cultural, historical, and geographic terminology referenced in country profiles and articles. Terms are drawn from authoritative sources including the Library of Congress.

coronelismo: Derives from the honorary title of colonel (coronel; pl., coroneis) in the National Guard that was customarily conferred on a locally dominant political boss, usually a substantial landowner or local justice of the peace. The term eventually became applied to local strongmen or political bosses, especially in rural areas and particularly in poorer Northeastern states. Coronelismo thus was a classic boss system under which control of patronage and minor funds was centralized in the coronel, who would dispense favors in return for political loyalty.; Source: Library of Congress
corporatist, corporatism: A political system in which various groups (for instance, the military, labor, and peasants) are organized into official constituencies. The various constituencies influence government policy and are supported by government patronage.
patronato real: The ""king’s patronage"" was the absolute control of clerical patronage in the colonies that the papacy gave to the kings of Spain. The Spanish Crown maintained this extensive power over the church throughout the colonial period. It ended with independence, when the church lost the protection of royal support.