Political Parties in Brazil

Abstract

Abstract In the current Brazilian scenario, it is possible to observe the general weakening of political parties, particularly concerning the main parties that led the democratic political transition. What challenges do these party organizations have in relation to the chronic high party fragmentation and electoral volatility? In this chapter, we present factors that impact the country’s political state, such as: (a) the combination of majority voting presidential elections and open-list proportional elections; (b) the presence of solely regional (state-level) electoral districts for the national legislature; and the (c) formation of political careers independent of political parties, grounded on regional electoral support. Additionally, we explore the consequences of this situation: the instability of party preference; the loss or stability of the number of affiliates, party fragmentation and volatility; and the concentration of (public) resources in the national directorates of the parties. Based on the analysis of three cases in greater depth (PT, PSDB, and MDB), we propose to contribute to the analysis of the relationship between parties and democracy in Brazil.