This article presents two forms of action taken by representatives of large corporations with communities in the interior of the Maranhão state, in the Northeastern region of Brazil. We seek to demonstrate, through the concept of business rites, how large companies, in their relationship with rural communities, strategically develop these rites. The methodological procedure adopted is qualitative focused on descriptive and explanatory analysis. Semi-structured interviews with representatives from the communities and the companies were performed, as well as the analysis of official documents of open access and internal documents, which were granted access for this research. As a main contribution, we hold that large companies develop the capacity to interfere directly in the evaluation made by the community. It starts from the moment the companies select the representatives, who have experiences related to causes sustained by their antagonists, in this case, the social movements in the rural area; or when they transform the financial investments into positive references for their action in the communities.
authorized spokesperson; Authorized authority; Representation; Symbolic capital; Inculcation