Explaining Change in the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT)

Abstract

Brazil’s Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party, or PT), long considered the most influential left-wing party among Latin American democracies, is now entering its fourth decade of life. Forged in opposition — first to the military regime, then to a series of democratically elected governments — the PT has held the Brazilian presidency since 2003, first under Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and now under Dilma Rousseff. Change within the party began well before Lula captured the presidency, but over the past decade the process has accelerated. Indicators of change include ideological moderation, reform of internal decision-making structures, new relationships with civil society organisations, the willingness to ally with centre and right-wing parties, construction of a new electoral base among Brazil’s poor majority, and overall a general reorientation of the party’s public image. This panel takes stock of the changes within the PT since the first presidential victory in 2002. Papers cover the PT’s shifting electoral base, its reformed internal organisation, and its evolving relationship to Brazilian civil society.

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