Authors:

Alison SCZEPANSKI and Carlos SIMIONI

Abstract:

The democratic context of the 20th century fostered the emergence of social groups that aim to represent certain interests before state power. In this scenario, within police institutions, some class associations have emerged that have acted in the context of the various powers of the State, especially in the National Congress, such as the Association of State Military Officers of Paraná (ASSOFEPAR). In this sense, this article aims to identify the forms of action of ASSOFEPAR as a pressure group in the National Congress, describing the creation process and the attributions of ASSOFEPAR, and also presenting the theoretical aspects of pressure groups in the light of contemporary Political Science. The research is characterized as exploratory and bibliographic, based on a literature review that includes Bernsdorf (1964), Farhat (2007) and Santos (2015), and the application of a questionnaire to Officers directly involved with this association. During the research, it was found that ASSOFEPAR’s actions in the National Congress take place in various ways, all converging on the monitoring and defense of the interests of the class of state military personnel in the two federal legislative houses. In general, the axis of “Political Articulation and Mobilization” was identified, characterized by the presence of association representatives in the Federal Legislative Branch, by the monitoring of legislative proposals (political and legislative monitoring) and participation in events. It is concluded that, based on the identification of this activity in the National Congress, ASSOFEPAR effectively acts as a pressure group, taking into account the theoretical definitions of Political Science.