This paper results from an analysis of the associative engagement for the recruitment and legitimization of political elites. The different modalities of the relations with unions and associations are examined considering the federal deputies who have taken their positions from 1999 to 2007. These relations are compared to other conditions and resources such as those related to schooling degree, the amount of economical property, partisan affiliation and the number of switching between political parties. According to one of the general conclusions, there is a strong homology between the distribution of federal deputies according to their associative relation, both in partisan politics and in the political environment. However, this is not simply a dichotomy between activities, associative and political-partisan scopes, but rather different patterns of complementarity, elective affinities, ambivalences and detachment, and therefore different patterns of resources and modalities that could be used in different conditions and processes for politization.
Political Representation; Associative Capital; Political Elites; Political Commitment and Militancy; Groups of Interest