In this article, the author discusses the arguments used by Brazilian sociologist, Maria Isaura Pereira de Queiroz, to defend a certain “rationality” in Brazilian politics by examining how she employed the notion of time, the notions of gift and counter-gift, and the concept of kinship. With the aim of furthering our understanding of Queiroz’s thought, the author indicates the similarities and differences between the work of Queiroz and that of her contemporary social scientists, whose interest in the sociological study of power stood out in the 1950s and 60s.