Exposure to Corruption and Politicians' Strategic Use of Rhetoric: Evidence from Brazil

In contexts of pervasive and persistent corruption, one question often asked is why this is the case. One possible answer may lie in how politicians communicate with their constituents. This paper analyzes the effect of the public's perceived corruption situation on politicians' use of rhetoric in Brazil. Leveraging Google search volume and news articles related to corruption, the paper investigates the effects of corruption on what politicians say and whether they rely on populist rhetoric when their constituents perceive more corruption in society. This paper contributes to understanding politicians' strategic use of different types of rhetoric, including populist rhetoric, not only as a way to communicate but also as a strategic behavior to avoid accountability. The paper argues that politicians can objectively observe corruption levels through the level of corruption-related news from the media and perceived corruption in society. They strategically increase the use of populist rhetoric to compensate for lower levels of trust resulting from corruption and mobilize supporters, attempting to mitigate negative electoral consequences and undermine different forms of accountability. By employing populist rhetoric, politicians portray themselves as anti-corruption and honest, often attributing the blame for corruption to others. This blame attribution can occur by casting doubt on institutions, accountability, and anti-corruption systems. The paper relies on a unique dataset derived from text analysis of newspapers, Google Trends data, and parliamentary speeches in Brazil. It investigates which topics politicians discuss more often and whether they increase their use of populist rhetoric. Results suggest that politicians increase populist rhetoric, especially when there is much at stake for them, like during big corruption scandals. It raises attention to the issue that anti-corruption institutions are often under attack when they are most needed.