Political Economic Transactions in Political Contest: Relationship Between Poverty and Money Politics in Indonesia

: In political contestation, the issue of poverty is still considered effective because it can be felt directly by the community. The contestants' use of poverty data for certain political purposes will make the sympathy of many people and prove to be able to gain people's votes because they feel represented. In the process, the contestants, both incumbent and opposition, will look for loopholes in each of their campaign programs regarding poverty suppression. On the other hand, our political contestation event is also still being polluted by the practice of money politics. The wide gap in economic inequality will trigger the practice of money politics. This practice is increasingly widespread by the presence of the rich elite as material givers and voters who are below the poverty line as recipients. Those who receive money sometimes do not really think about the consequences that will be received, such as bribery and vote buying which are clearly against the law, because the most important thing for them is to get money and be able to fulfill their needs. In this case, money politics is also growing and there are many kinds, not only in the form of money but those who carry out this practice will bandage it so that it is not too visible, such as by providing assistance, rewards, and material or other valuable things as well as by promising something. later inserted when campaigning by candidates or campaign teams in political contestations. To discuss these problems, the author uses a qualitative method through a literature study, namely collecting and analyzing data using various relevant references on poverty and money politics. This paper will explain about the existence of political-economic transactions in political contestation, the causal factors, the relationship between poverty and money politics, as well as efforts to prevent money politics in political contestation, which are explained through a poverty perspective.


Introduction
Poverty is one of the issues that is quite central to every country in the world, especially developing countries. Alleviating poverty and creating prosperity for the people is the ultimate goal of a country. Various thoughts and concepts regarding poverty have been studied and adapted in every developing country, but in the end, it still does not produce satisfactory results. As we know, the poverty rate in this country is quite high and can be considered as a chronic disease that we do not know when it will begin to show signs of healing. In this context, Indonesia as a developing country that is already decades old, is still plagued by the problem of poverty as a crucial problem that can be studied through a political economy approach (Bebbington et al., 2006).
As of September 2019, the poverty rate in Indonesia reached 24.79 million people or 9.22% of the total population in Indonesia. The issue of poverty seems difficult to solve for the Indonesian government in the short term. On the one hand, the issue of poverty is still considered effective as an issue raised in the candidate's campaign program in political contestation, because this issue can be felt directly by the community. The contestants' use of poverty data for certain political purposes will make the sympathy of many people and prove to be able to gain people's votes because they feel represented. In the process, the contestants, both incumbent and opposition, will look for loopholes in each of their campaign programs regarding poverty suppression. On the other hand, our political contestation event is also still being polluted by the practice of money politics. In this case, the problem of poverty is one aspect or one of the factors in the occurrence of dirty political practices that occur in Indonesia, especially during the ongoing political contestation. This dirty practice is money politics carried out by political actors who use money as their way to win themselves in regional head elections. The practice of money politics is an old problem that is difficult to eradicate until now (Pradhanawati et al., 2019;Indrayana, 2017).
Money Politics is an attempt to influence other people by using material rewards or it can also be interpreted as buying and selling votes in the political process and power and the act of distributing money, either privately or by parties, to influence voters' votes (Mukti and Rodiyah, 2020;Aspinall, 2005).
One of the most influential factors for the practice of money politics is poverty. As stated earlier, the poverty rate in Indonesia is quite high. Poverty can be caused by the scarcity of tools to meet basic needs, or the difficulty of accessing education and jobs. The second factor which is also greatly influenced by the poverty factor is the low level of public knowledge about politics. From this we can see that people's knowledge of politics is still low, because learning about politics itself is not taught from an early age, so people are indifferent to the candidates they have to vote for, and only think about the political money. Another factor is culture, where the culture of giving money at the time of the election is already attached to the community. This is a bad habit that must be changed by the community as well as by the political actors themselves, because this is still considered a normal thing for many people, especially the lower economic class.
Several studies on political economy transactions in the political context, especially elections, have been carried out by several researchers, especially those related to the factors causing the practice of money politics. Some of these writings include those by Fatih Gama Abisono Nasution and Ari Dwipayana entitled "Money in Political Contest: An Ethnographic Study of Money Politics Practices in the Regional Head Elections in Yogyakarta City in 2011". The results of the study show that voters have their own way of building their preference for action. Citizens' choices actually start from the political beliefs of voters which are built from historical cultural processes that work in specific cultural landscapes. This means that citizens' political choices are not fully defined in economic terms. This reflection raises practical implications about engineering opportunities in improving the quality of representation through the electoral process. Another study entitled "Money Politics Practices in the 2019 Sumberingin Kidul Village Head Election Process" by Fathur Rozy et al. This study shows that the phenomenon of money politics in Sumberingin Kidul Village basically occurs to influence the choices of the people themselves, where the existence of money becomes an attraction for the community to give money (Von Luebke, 2009;Basri, 2013;Hamayotsu, 2011).
Based on the description above, we will study of the political economy transactions in political contest, especially in discussing the relationship between poverty and money politics in Indonesia.

Material and Method
The study of political economy transactions in political contest: the relation between poverty and money politics in Indonesia requires in-depth identification and understanding to see the political context surrounding the research problem and the phenomenon of money politics practice. Therefore, the research approach used is qualitative research using literature studies. The qualitative research is aimed at understanding meaning, understanding particular contexts, anticipating unanticipated phenomena and influences, and understanding processes. This study aims to identify problems that arise in the context of Political Economy Transactions in Political Contest; identify the relationship between Poverty and Money Politics in Indonesia.
Thus, this study uses data sources from various documents and references related to Political Economy Transactions in Political Contest, especially regarding the Relationship between Poverty and Money Politics in Indonesia.

Results
Money politics is the practice of giving money or goods or giving the lure of something, to a person or mass in groups or individually, for political gain. In other words, money politics can also be defined as an attempt to influence the behavior of others by using certain rewards. There are also those who interpret money politics as an act of buying and selling votes in the political process and power. These actions can occur in a wide range, both from village head elections and to general elections in a country nationally. With this money politics, the resulting decision is no longer based on the reality of whether the decision is good or not, but solely based on the will of the money giver, because the person concerned has benefited.
Money politics itself has various forms, including in the form of money and in the form of public facilities. In the form of money, it is usually done by means of campaign mode, where they ask for support from the community through the distribution of brochures, t-shirts, stickers, etc. Then after the event the community is given "transportation money" with a certain amount. In addition, political actors who are involved in this practice usually give it through donations or basic necessities. In the second form, namely public facilities, these political actors are usually used to build mosques, prayer rooms, or repair public facilities such as small roads.
There are two strategies for money politics, namely the dawn attack and mass mobilization. Dawn attack is a term used to describe a form of money politics in order to buy votes by one or more people to win candidates who will occupy positions as political leaders. Dawn attacks generally target the lower middle class and often occur before the general election. Then the second strategy is mass mobilization. Mass mobilization usually occurs during campaigns involving mass gathering with the lure of a sum of money to enliven campaigns held by political parties. The use of money is usually used for transportation costs, fatigue money and food allowances, with the hope that the masses who come during the campaign will vote for them on election day (Mediatati and Nababan, 2019;Sholeh et al., 2018;Herman, 2022).
Several modes of money politics in the form of money that occur and are often carried out are: 1. Campaign Tools. The trick is to ask for support from the community through the distribution of brochures, stickers and t-shirts. After the event was over, the supporters were given a replacement for transportation money at various prices. 2. In the General Election there are several practices of money politics, for example: distribution of donations, either in the form of goods or money to party cadres, cheerleaders, certain groups or groups. 3. Immediate assistance. Namely the gift of a certain candidate for a particular community or group. The trick is to send certain proposals by stating the type of assistance and the amount requested, if the proposal is granted, the prospective voters must automatically be ready to cast their votes. Meanwhile, money politics in the form of providing public facilities tends to be associated with the politics of imagery carried out by candidates to attract public sympathy in their constituencies. This not only benefits the people personally, but also public facilities and facilities to the blessing section. The politics of imaging and spreading charm through this political network is not only carried out by new candidates, but also by candidates who intend to run again in their electoral districts. Instruments that are used as tools to attract public sympathy by providing cement, sand, iron, stone and so on. Public facilities and facilities that are usually used as a Political Jariyah, namely: Construction of mosques, prayer rooms, madrasas, small streets (alleys), and so on.
According to Aspinall and Sukmajati (2015), several forms of money politics that also often occur in general elections are as follows: 1. Vote purchase. Vote buying is the provision of material rewards (either in the form of money or goods) to an individual or family who has the right to vote on the day of the voting or several days before. The distribution of cash/in-kind payments from candidates to voters is systematically carried out in the days leading up to the election accompanied by the implicit expectation that recipients will reciprocate by voting for the giver. 2. Personal gifts. To support systematic vote-buying, candidates often give voters various forms of personal gifts. Usually, they do this practice when meeting with voters, either during house visits or during campaigning. Giving like this is often discussed as the glue of social relations. Sometimes the gifts are distributed by the campaign team. 3. Services and activities. Like the giving of cash and other materials, candidates often provide or finance a variety of activities and services for voters. A very common form of activity is campaigning at celebratory events by a particular community. Another example is organizing sports competitions, chess or domino tournaments, recitation forums, cooking demonstrations and others. Not a few candidates also finance various services for the community, such as free check-ups and health services, provision of ambulances and others. 4. Group goods. Club goods are defined as the practice of money politics which is given more for the mutual benefit of certain social groups than for individual gain. Most are divided into two categories, namely donations to community associations and donations to communities living in urban, rural or other environments. Candidates make visits to these communities accompanied by goods or other benefits needed by these communities. For example, worship equipment, sports equipment, agricultural equipment, sound systems and others of the same kind. 5. Pork barrel project. This is different from the form of money politics that has been described previously which is generally a strategy of the candidates in order to win votes privately (either by the candidate or by private donors). Pork barrel projects are defined as government projects aimed at a specific geographic area. These activities are aimed at the public and funded with public funds in the hope that the public will provide political support to certain candidates.

Poverty as One of the Causes of Money Politics
Poverty can be understood as a state of lack of money and goods to ensure survival. Chambers (in Nasikun) says that poverty is an integrated concept that has five dimensions, namely poverty, powerlessness, vulnerability to emergency situations, dependence, and alienation both geographically and sociologically. Poverty itself can be divided into four forms, namely absolute poverty, relative poverty, cultural poverty, and structural poverty. Absolute poverty is a condition where the income is below the poverty line or is not sufficient to meet the needs of food, shelter, health, and education needed to be able to live and work. Relative poverty is a situation where poverty occurs because of the influence of development policies that have not reached the whole community, causing inequality in income. Cultural poverty is a condition related to the nature of a person or society caused by cultural factors, such as not wanting to try to improve the level of life, lazy, wasteful, not creative even though there is help from outsiders. Finally, there is structural poverty where this is a poor situation caused by low access to resources that occurs in a socio-cultural and socio-political system that does not support poverty alleviation, but often causes poverty to flourish. Nasikun (2001) said that there are ten factors that cause poverty, namely (1) Policy induces processes, where the impoverishment process is preserved, reproduced through the implementation of a policy, including anti-poverty policies, but in reality, it preserves it. (2) Socio-economic dualism, ex-colonial countries experience poverty due to colonial production patterns, where farmers are marginalized because the most fertile land is controlled by large-scale and export-oriented farmers. (3) Population growth, which is a perspective based on Malthus' theory that population growth is like a geometric progression, while food growth is like an arithmetic progression. (4) Resources management and the environment, with elements of mismanagement of natural resources and the environment, such as agricultural management that comes from logging can cause a decrease in productivity. (5) Natural cycles and processes, poverty occurs due to natural cycles.
For example, if you live on critical land, where when it rains there will be flooding but during the dry season there will be a shortage of water, making it impossible to produce high and continuous productivity. (6) The marginalization of women, this happens because of the marginalization of women who are still considered a secondclass group, so that access to and rewards for the work given is lower than that of men. (7) Cultural and ethnic factors, the operation of cultural and ethnic factors that maintain poverty. For example, the consumptive lifestyle of farmers and fishermen during the harvest, as well as consumptive customs during traditional or religious ceremonies. (8) Exploitative intermediation, the presence of helpers who become muggers, such as moneylenders (loan lenders). (9) Internal political fragmentation and civil strategy, namely a policy applied to an area with strong political fragmentation, can be the cause of poverty. (10) International processes, the operation of international systems (colonialism and capitalism) makes many countries poorer.
Political contestation in Indonesia which is manifested in the form of General Elections, Presidential Elections and Regional Head Elections (Pilkada) is a system of implementing democracy that has been mandated in the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia which is held periodically every five years. This system is referred to as a means of implementing people's sovereignty in which they directly elect the leader of their country or region within the next five years. General elections in Indonesia are carried out based on the principles of direct, general, free, confidential, honest and fair with the guidelines, namely Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. This election is held to elect members of the DPR, DPD, and DPRD as well as the President and Vice President. Meanwhile, Pilkada is held to elect the Governor and Deputy Governor, Regent and Deputy Regent, Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
However, the risks and obstacles in the implementation of the democratic system in Indonesia, which until now still often occur in every election and regional election held in Indonesia, are that various issues always arise regarding the weakness of law enforcement, both elections and regional elections. This begins with the number of administrative violations and election crimes that occur at each stage or process of implementation, especially one that occurs is money politics.
Money politics is defined as an attempt to influence the behavior of others by using certain rewards. There are also some who interpret money politics as an act of buying and selling votes in the political process and power. These actions can occur in a wide range, from village head elections to the general election of a country.
Money politics in the process of political contestation in Indonesia, both executive and legislative, is something that is used as a tool used to obtain or get voters' votes if they want to win an election contestation. In terms of money politics transactions, this does not only occur because of one side of the election contestants but also most of the people themselves whose contexts are entangled in poverty or lack of political education will make this something that is expected in every political contestation.
There is an understanding or paradigm of some of the people that if there is no money then it is not chosen, who gives the money then that will be chosen later. These money politics transactions usually occur during the campaign period carried out by candidates for election contestation or regional elections when conveying the vision, mission and work programs that are brought to the community, followed by promises to be elected and at the stage of a calm period where at this time are very difficult times. crucial as the day of the voting is approaching. At this stage, ordinary money politics is better known among the public as a dawn attack because it is usually carried out in the early hours of the morning before dawn on the day the voting is carried out, and the intensity of money politics transactions can increase because the candidates for election contestation or elections are vying with each other to find a way to get as many votes as possible. This often happens at every election so that most people feel that this action is a natural thing to happen, and it seems that these practices have become like a culture that has taken root because it has happened from previous generations to the current generation.

Poverty and the Practice of Money Politics
In the Political Contest, the issue of poverty is still considered effective because it can be felt directly by the community. The contestants' use of poverty data for certain political purposes will make the sympathy of many people and prove to be able to gain people's votes because they feel represented. In the process, the contestants, both incumbent and opposition, will look for loopholes in every policy regarding poverty suppression. However, this debate seems to be just a pattern that is usually carried out from the past until now, and most of the poverty alleviation policy efforts voiced by those who compete are only temporary. Once elected, sometimes there is no meaningful solution.
Not only that, our political contestation event is also still being polluted by the practice of money politics. The wide gap in economic inequality will trigger the practice of money politics. This practice is increasingly widespread by the presence of the rich elite as material givers and voters who are below the poverty line as recipients. This poor condition seems to force and pressure some people to immediately get money. Money politics has become an arena for people to fight for money. Those who receive money sometimes do not really think about the consequences that will be received, such as bribery and buying and selling votes which are clearly against the law, because the most important thing for them is to get money and be able to fulfill their needs.
In this case, money politics is also growing and there are many kinds, not only in the form of money but those who carry out this practice will bandage it so that it is not too visible, such as by providing assistance, rewards, and material or other valuable things as well as by promising something. later inserted when campaigning by candidates or campaign teams in political contestations.
If you look at the process that occurs in the implementation of money politics, the modus operandi is, first, the candidate leaders in the election contestation or regional head elections will make the poor people as objects in the occurrence of money politics which in its implementation is by distributing money and basic necessities to them on calm weeks. campaign, which is often called the dawn attack, while the other related mode is that after the people have voted, they will meet the success team of one of the candidates for political contestation at an agreed place to get transportation money or cigarette money.
Second, the poor directly or through intermediaries, namely the success team, will also make the candidates as objects to get money and basic necessities. The two parties concerned will directly or indirectly establish mutually beneficial cooperation, namely the candidates who really need the support of the voices of the poor to win the general election or regional head election. On the other hand, the poor need money and basic necessities for their daily needs. They carry out transactions of buying and selling votes in elections or local elections which are then called money politics. This condition is very difficult to prevent and eradicate, because in the process there has been cooperation from both parties, so that they will cover each other that money politics has taken place. This is what causes those who practice money politics almost none of them are in criminal law because there is no strong enough evidence, namely witnesses and written evidence such as transfer evidence or receipts. All these practical actions are carried out on a "cash and carry" basis.
The real impact of the electoral contestation process that occurs both executive and legislative which has been entered by the practice of money politics is certain, namely that it will produce leaders who are elected by the community not based on proper criteria, but the chosen leader is based on the results of the subjective thinking of the community because of the influence of the community. given or promised by the candidate in the election contestation or the election. In the end, the quality of leadership that results from the practice of money politics is mostly far from the expected reality, because leaders who are born from incorrect results tend to practice leadership in their tenure incorrectly as well.

Prevention of Money Political Behavior
Money politics is a social disease that has become a culture in people's lives in Indonesia, which occurs in the meaning of the democratic process. Poverty is always associated with the behavior of money politics, so this country has no other choice but to eradicate poverty, which begins by cutting the cycle of poverty by providing full scholarships to children below the poverty line to be able to study in other areas or abroad. country. This is important to do because as has been explained that one of the factors that cause poverty is cultural factors, they also need to change their culture so that they become more dynamic and progressive by sending them to other areas, which means separating their lives from their parents and their environment. As for the poor in general, their culture also needs to be changed into a culture of discipline, hard work, optimism and not quickly giving up on fate. The government also needs to give special treatment to the poor by providing free job skills training so that everyone has work and business skills. Then, finally, make the APBN and APBD as instruments to promote SMEs and cooperatives by offering them, working capital and investment capital, business licenses, promotions, and regular coaching. With that, gradually poverty can be reduced and overcome.
By looking at the main causes of money politics, to overcome them can also be done with several steps, namely: community participation which is very much needed in an effort to reduce the practice of money politics in every process of implementing election contestation or regional head elections. The government and political parties need to see the poor as equal partners in planning and solving poverty problems, because the beneficiaries of poverty alleviation programs are themselves. Thus, their position is not only a political object, but also a political subject that can influence policy, so that programs in solving poverty can be right on target. Then the second can be through a movement to make people aware. Efforts to reduce the practice of money politics must be based on government and community initiatives because they are the ones who directly contribute. The Anti-Money Politics Village which is targeted at the family level is an innovation that can minimize and overcome the practice of money politics. This movement can be an example of how every party from the government, community organizations and legislative candidates are involved to fight the culture of money politics.
And finally, by strengthening legal instruments to provide a deterrent effect for both perpetrators and recipients of money politics. The current election law only punishes political contestants who practice money politics. In fact, if you look at the Pilkada Law, the perpetrators and recipients of money politics can be ensnared by law. Then the witness or reporter needs to be given protection by being guaranteed by existing regulations, because basically the practice of money politics has entered into an extraordinary crime so that the reporter or witness must be protected formally by the state.
With the methods or efforts of these various parties, we hope that money politics problems that occur in the electoral contestation process or regional elections which are held every five years can be minimized and overcome.

Conclussion
Based on the discussion above, it can be concluded that there is a relationship between the issue of poverty and the practice of money politics in the election contest in Indonesia. Poverty is one of the factors that influence or become one of the main causes of the practice of money politics. The poor condition of the people forced them to immediately get money, so that the practice of money politics eventually became one of the answers to poverty. The practice of money politics has become entrenched in Indonesia, and this practice often occurs in political contestations. In addition, the low level of education and the high poverty rate are important factors for people who receive money from these political actors for free.
Although sanctions for candidates who practice money politics have been regulated in the law, in fact the perpetrators of these violations are still difficult to be subject to criminal or administrative sanctions. The difficulty of the law enforcement process against the practice of money politics is due to the lack of witnesses as evidence and the lack of evidence in possession. This practice is difficult to avoid because it has become a necessity for the middle and lower economic class people. It is also difficult to separate these communities and practices because they too have been targeted by political actors. The low level of public knowledge makes it easier for actors to carry out this practice. The behavior of money politics shows that these political actors take actions that reflect the maintenance of poverty itself, because even the lower middle-class people have a perception of this action if it is not stopped by the political actors.
Because of the need for strict regulations and sanctions, where political actors should be able to provide political education as one of the functions of political parties that can provide benefits to the community and also educate the community. Strict sanctions can be applied to political actors who set a bad example for the society. Indonesia seems to be inseparable from the problem of corruption and bribery, both from the lower economic community to officials who have high positions in state political institutions. Things like this show that the anti-corruption jargons voiced by the government are still just words, if political actors who actually have a big role in solving this problem actually practice them almost every time, as if what comes out of their mouths. them with what they do contradict each other. Therefore, this problem cannot be considered trivial because it is deeply rooted in nature and must also be resolved rootedly.