Confiança no Ministério Público: a Perspectiva de Atores de Interlocução Interinstitucional.

Abstract

The present research aimed to understand which factors were related to the trust that the actors of institutional interlocution placed in the Public Prosecution Office, using the survey method. Studies of political trust have been developed from culturalist and institutionalist theoretical traditions, and there is currently an attempt to bring together these approaches, defending the argument that attitudes of institutional trust are formed from the judgment arising from citizens' experience with institutions, influenced by the perception provided by political culture. Following this mixed model of analysis, we tested the main hypothesis of the study, that both culturalist and institutionalist variables are potential explanatory factors of trust in the Public Prosecution Office, with no predominance between them. In addition, we sought to understand whether a more traditional role of the member of the Public Prosecution Office ("cabinet prosecutor") negatively impacts the trust the institution enjoys, a secondary hypothesis of the research. Using the technique of descriptive statistical analysis of the data, together with the Spearman test, it was possible to test the main hypothesis of the research, which could be confirmed, since the data showed the absence of preponderance between the institutionalist and culturalist variables in explaining confidence in the Public Prosecution Office. The secondary hypothesis was not confirmed. In general, the results indicated that being over 45 years old, having a higher level of education (incomplete) and a non-Pentecostal evangelical religion have a positive impact on trust in the Public Prosecution Office. In turn, the legitimacy of the institution's actions, as well as its being recognized as having positive performance attributes, such as: good performance, ethics and the qualification of its members, also positively impacts trust in it. Finally, the interviewee's direct contact with the Public Prosecution Office and a good assessment of this interaction reflect positively on trust in the institution.