With control of the means of violence in favelas, traffickers agree to ensure that no other politicians will come into a favela during an election.
Traffickers themselves are not brokers in a hierarchical clientelist relationship between politicians and favela residents.
Clearly traffickers can violently force out other favela leaders.
Nevertheless, many politicians need the support of the traffickers in order to secure access to a favela's votes.
This was especially apparent during a flood when residents from the poorest section of the favela refused to evacuate for fear of thieves.
Only through collusion between traffickers and civic leaders can community groups make effective arrangements to guarantee politicians access to a favela.
These police occasionally come into the favela, arrest traffickers, and then release them in exchange for a ransom.
This illustrates flexibility in network connections and also suggests that criminals can gain control of resources destined to help favela residents.
