This article analyses the interrelations between the concepts of political culture, ideology and voting behavior, in an attempt to understand the so-called "Brazilian voter". It defines the concepts of political culture and ideology, and presents the principal theories of electoral behavior and the typologies of the vote in Brazil. It concludes by giving a typology of the Brazilian voter, who is defined as personalist-oriented, deciding his vote principally on this basis of the individual attributes, competence and honesty of the candidates. Finally, it seeks to explain the historical origin of this behavioral pattern among voters.
political culture; ideology; voting behavior; Brazil