Brazilian Social Democracy Party
Encyclopedia
The Brazilian Social Democracy Party (Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira, PSDB) is a centrist political party
in Brazil
. Originally a centre-left party (with social-democratic intentions, though they never held any actual strength in the unions) at the time of its foundation, PSDB moved to the centre
after Fernando Henrique Cardoso
forged an alliance with the right-wing Liberal Front Party and was elected President of Brazil
.
The third largest party in the National Congress
, PSDB has been the main opposition against the administrations of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
and Dilma Rousseff
. Its mascot is a blue and yellow colored toucan
; party members are called tucanos for this reason. Famous tucanos includes Mário Covas
, Geraldo Alckmin
, Tasso Jereissati
, Aécio Neves
, FHC
, Franco Montoro, Aloysio Nunes, Yeda Crusius
, and José Serra
.
, led by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
, but the group split over ideological grounds. The democratic socialists joined the labour movement and founded the Worker's Party, while the social democrats remained in the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) and would later create the Social Democratic Party of Brazil (PSDB).
PSDB was founded on June 25, 1988 by members of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party linked to the European social democratic movement as an attempt to clarify their ideals. Its manifesto preached "democracy as a fundamental value" and "social justice
as an aim to be reached". In its foundation, the party attempted to unite political groups as diverse as social democrats, social liberals, Christian democrats and democratic socialists.
This period when PSDB was created was a very significant moment in the history of Brazilian politics. On April 21, 1985, the Brazilian people witnessed the death of Tancredo Neves
, the last president not elected directly by the people since the beginning of the dictatorial government. With the formation of new parties, including PSDB, a National Constitutional Assembly
was created which drafted the current, democratic constitution, in 1988.
A high proportion of the first members of PSDB came from the so-called "historic PMDB". This was and still is a very large party with many internal conflicts. The founders of PSDB were dissatisfied with the results of the Constitutional Assembly, and decided to create a party to reflect the need for a national political renewal. As their manifesto states, the new party was created "away from the official benefits, but close to the pulsing of the streets" (taken from a speech by party leader Franco Montoro). Some of the founding members were José Serra
, Mário Covas
, André Franco Montoro
, Fernando Henrique Cardoso
, Aécio Neves
, and Geraldo Alckmin
.
In a country where two referenda, held in 1963 and in 1993, have shown a very strong preference for a presidential system of government, as in most countries of the Americas, PSDB stands almost alone in the preference given in its manifesto to a parliamentarian system of government. However, after the electors rejected "parlamentarismo" in 1993, and even though PSDB leader Cardoso was elected President the next year, the party did nothing in the last years to further the cause of a parliamentarian regime.
PSDB is one of the largest and most significant political parties in Brazil. Its official program states its policies as being social democratic and often associated with the Third Way
movement, although the party is also regarded as being influenced by neoliberalism
. The party's program states that it "reject[s] populism and authoritarianism, as well as both fundamentalist neoliberalism and obsolete national-statism".
Despite its name, the PSDB is not a member of the Socialist International
which draws together social democratic parties worldwide (the Brazilian member of the Socialist International is the Democratic Labour Party
(PDT)). Also, the party has not, and has never had, the links to trade union
movements that usually characterize social democratic parties; it used to sponsor a Central Union, SDS (Social-Democracia Sindical), which has now merged, together with Central Autônoma dos Trabalhadores (CAT), and the much more important Central Geral dos Trabalhadores (CGT), into the União Geral dos Trabalhadores (UGT)http://www.secefergs.org.br/Ugt/, but its impact among the unions has always been quite unimpressive compared to even much smaller parties as the PDT or the PCdoB
, or to the tucanoss own influence in society at large.
Because of the party's size, many members do not have the level of political education needed to spell out the real principles behind which it was founded or at least are not able to do so with the same force as its leading members. Yet, it remains one of the most democratic parties in the country and undoubtedly plays an important role in the current new era of Brazilian politics.
Accordingly its 1980 honor president, a good summary of the PSDB's stated program is: 1 ) constant defense of democracy. 2 ) the state at minimally needed size. 3 ) administrative descentralization. 4 ) sustainable economic growth with wealth distribution. 5 ) political reform to make stronger parties with districtal vote accountable representatives and aiming to reduce/ eliminate the corruption.
politics as President.
Political analyst Angelo Segrillo, in an article titled "The left-right confusion in the post-Berlin Wall
world", says that "most analysts defined PSDB as center-left as of its foundation, after all, it was the Brazilian Social Democratic Part". As he notes, "this story changed after 1994, with the election of PSDB to the presidency". "A rhetoric of overcoming classical ideological division (...) was one of the justifications of the grand parliamentary alliance with center and right-wing parties (...) As such, after the 1994 presidential election, most analysts started defining PSDB as a center party along with PMDB". In its 2009 report about Freedom in the World, Freedom House
defined the opposition coalition (formed by PSDB, PPS
and Democrats) as a "center-right coalition". However, in the 2010 report of the same organization, PSDB was defined as a "center-left" party.
Workers' Party campaign leader Marco Aurélio de Melo criticized declarations made by PSDB president Sérgio Guerra that PSDB is "the real left". He said that "PSDB is not a right wing party, it is the right wing's party".
's office in 1990:
"If left means to be against the existing social order, and right in favor, then social-democracy is without doubt a left current... A social democrat is before anything someone who has critical sense — who realizes the injustices of society and has no fear to oppose them, even at the risk of being taken as a subversive or a dreamer."
The party did not preach nationalization or privatization in general ("the consensus is that the state must not be too big or too small, but 'have the size and functions corresponding to the needs of the whole of society'"), although president Cardoso privatized many large public companies, such as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce
(CVRD) and the national telecommunication system.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Originally a centre-left party (with social-democratic intentions, though they never held any actual strength in the unions) at the time of its foundation, PSDB moved to the centre
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
after Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
forged an alliance with the right-wing Liberal Front Party and was elected President of Brazil
President of Brazil
The president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...
.
The third largest party in the National Congress
National Congress of Brazil
The National Congress of Brazil is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government.Unlike regional legislative bodies – Legislative Assemblies and City Councils -, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies .The Senate represents the 26 states and...
, PSDB has been the main opposition against the administrations of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
and Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Vana Rousseff is the 36th and current President of Brazil. She is the first woman to hold the office. Prior to that, in 2005, she was also the first woman to become Chief of Staff of Brazil, appointed by then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva....
. Its mascot is a blue and yellow colored toucan
Toucan
Toucans are members of the family Ramphastidae of near passerine birds from the Neotropics. The family is most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five genera and about forty different species...
; party members are called tucanos for this reason. Famous tucanos includes Mário Covas
Mário Covas
Mário Covas Júnior was a Brazilian politician.Covas studied engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo. He entered politics in his native city of Santos, in the state of São Paulo....
, Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho , known as Geraldo Alckmin is a Brazilian politician, who has been elected as the new governor of São Paulo, doing it for the second time, and former candidate for president of Brazil in the 2006 Elections...
, Tasso Jereissati
Tasso Jereissati
Tasso Ribeiro Jereissati is federal senator of Brazil. He is a former governor of Ceará from 1987 to 1991 and again from 1995 to 2002.-Biography:...
, Aécio Neves
Aécio Neves
Aécio Neves da Cunha is a Brazilian economist and politician; he was the Governor of Minas Gerais from 2003 to 2010 and is currently a member of the Brazilian Federal Senate. Born in Belo Horizonte, on March 10, 1960, he is the youngest governor in the state's history...
, FHC
FHC
FHC may refer to:* Flat Hat Club* Free Hugs Campaign* Family History Centers* Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the President of Brazil from 1995 to 2003* Financial holding company, a financial entity engaged in a broad range of banking-related activities...
, Franco Montoro, Aloysio Nunes, Yeda Crusius
Yeda Crusius
Yeda Rorato Crusius is an economist and former governor of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul until December 31, 2011. She was the first female governor of the state.-Background and political associations:...
, and José Serra
José Serra
José Serra is a Brazilian politician, former secretary of state, congressman, senator, minister of Planning and Minister of Health, mayor of São Paulo and Governor of São Paulo state.-Background:...
.
History
With the imminent collapse of the military dictatorship in the early 1980s, a group of left-wing intellectuals were mobilized to create a leftist party. Some of them attempted to work with the labour movementLabour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
, led by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
, but the group split over ideological grounds. The democratic socialists joined the labour movement and founded the Worker's Party, while the social democrats remained in the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) and would later create the Social Democratic Party of Brazil (PSDB).
PSDB was founded on June 25, 1988 by members of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party linked to the European social democratic movement as an attempt to clarify their ideals. Its manifesto preached "democracy as a fundamental value" and "social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
as an aim to be reached". In its foundation, the party attempted to unite political groups as diverse as social democrats, social liberals, Christian democrats and democratic socialists.
This period when PSDB was created was a very significant moment in the history of Brazilian politics. On April 21, 1985, the Brazilian people witnessed the death of Tancredo Neves
Tancredo Neves
Tancredo de Almeida Neves, SFO more commonly Tancredo Neves was a Brazilian politician. He was born in São João del Rey, in the state of Minas Gerais, of mostly Portuguese, but also Austrian descent and graduated in law. The Neves family name comes from an Azorean great great grandfather...
, the last president not elected directly by the people since the beginning of the dictatorial government. With the formation of new parties, including PSDB, a National Constitutional Assembly
Constitutional Assembly
The Constitutional Assembly was a body elected in 1955 to draw up a permanent constitution for the Republic of Indonesia. It sat between November 10, 1956 and July 2, 1959...
was created which drafted the current, democratic constitution, in 1988.
A high proportion of the first members of PSDB came from the so-called "historic PMDB". This was and still is a very large party with many internal conflicts. The founders of PSDB were dissatisfied with the results of the Constitutional Assembly, and decided to create a party to reflect the need for a national political renewal. As their manifesto states, the new party was created "away from the official benefits, but close to the pulsing of the streets" (taken from a speech by party leader Franco Montoro). Some of the founding members were José Serra
José Serra
José Serra is a Brazilian politician, former secretary of state, congressman, senator, minister of Planning and Minister of Health, mayor of São Paulo and Governor of São Paulo state.-Background:...
, Mário Covas
Mário Covas
Mário Covas Júnior was a Brazilian politician.Covas studied engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo. He entered politics in his native city of Santos, in the state of São Paulo....
, André Franco Montoro
André Franco Montoro
André Franco Montoro was a Brazilian politician and lawyer. He was born in São Paulo as the son of André de Blois Montoro and Tomásia Alijostes. He was a senator and governor of São Paulo. He was a member of several parties, such as PDC, MDB, Party of Brazilian Democratic Movement and one of the...
, Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
, Aécio Neves
Aécio Neves
Aécio Neves da Cunha is a Brazilian economist and politician; he was the Governor of Minas Gerais from 2003 to 2010 and is currently a member of the Brazilian Federal Senate. Born in Belo Horizonte, on March 10, 1960, he is the youngest governor in the state's history...
, and Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho , known as Geraldo Alckmin is a Brazilian politician, who has been elected as the new governor of São Paulo, doing it for the second time, and former candidate for president of Brazil in the 2006 Elections...
.
In a country where two referenda, held in 1963 and in 1993, have shown a very strong preference for a presidential system of government, as in most countries of the Americas, PSDB stands almost alone in the preference given in its manifesto to a parliamentarian system of government. However, after the electors rejected "parlamentarismo" in 1993, and even though PSDB leader Cardoso was elected President the next year, the party did nothing in the last years to further the cause of a parliamentarian regime.
PSDB is one of the largest and most significant political parties in Brazil. Its official program states its policies as being social democratic and often associated with the Third Way
Third way (centrism)
The Third Way refers to various political positions which try to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. Third Way approaches are commonly viewed from within the first- and second-way perspectives as...
movement, although the party is also regarded as being influenced by neoliberalism
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...
. The party's program states that it "reject[s] populism and authoritarianism, as well as both fundamentalist neoliberalism and obsolete national-statism".
Despite its name, the PSDB is not a member of the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
which draws together social democratic parties worldwide (the Brazilian member of the Socialist International is the Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party (Brazil)
The Democratic Labour Party is a populist, democratic socialist political party of Brazil. It was founded in 1979 by left-wing leader Leonel Brizola as an attempt to reorganize the Brazilian leftist forces during the end of the Brazilian military dictatorship...
(PDT)). Also, the party has not, and has never had, the links to trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
movements that usually characterize social democratic parties; it used to sponsor a Central Union, SDS (Social-Democracia Sindical), which has now merged, together with Central Autônoma dos Trabalhadores (CAT), and the much more important Central Geral dos Trabalhadores (CGT), into the União Geral dos Trabalhadores (UGT)http://www.secefergs.org.br/Ugt/, but its impact among the unions has always been quite unimpressive compared to even much smaller parties as the PDT or the PCdoB
Communist Party of Brazil
The Communist Party of Brazil is a political party in Brazil. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and students movements. PCdoB dispute with the Brazilian Communist Party the title of "oldest political party in Brazil"...
, or to the tucanoss own influence in society at large.
Recent times
A mere six years after its creation, PSDB was able to win the Presidency of the Republic. It grew faster than any other party in Brazilian history, with an astonishingly good performance in elections at all levels. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso enjoyed eight years (1994–2002) of political stability in his tenure as president.Because of the party's size, many members do not have the level of political education needed to spell out the real principles behind which it was founded or at least are not able to do so with the same force as its leading members. Yet, it remains one of the most democratic parties in the country and undoubtedly plays an important role in the current new era of Brazilian politics.
Accordingly its 1980 honor president, a good summary of the PSDB's stated program is: 1 ) constant defense of democracy. 2 ) the state at minimally needed size. 3 ) administrative descentralization. 4 ) sustainable economic growth with wealth distribution. 5 ) political reform to make stronger parties with districtal vote accountable representatives and aiming to reduce/ eliminate the corruption.
Ideology
Although PSDB declares itself as a center-left party, some people in the left rejects this definition, especially after Fernando Henrique Cardoso embraced Third WayThird way (centrism)
The Third Way refers to various political positions which try to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. Third Way approaches are commonly viewed from within the first- and second-way perspectives as...
politics as President.
Political analyst Angelo Segrillo, in an article titled "The left-right confusion in the post-Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
world", says that "most analysts defined PSDB as center-left as of its foundation, after all, it was the Brazilian Social Democratic Part". As he notes, "this story changed after 1994, with the election of PSDB to the presidency". "A rhetoric of overcoming classical ideological division (...) was one of the justifications of the grand parliamentary alliance with center and right-wing parties (...) As such, after the 1994 presidential election, most analysts started defining PSDB as a center party along with PMDB". In its 2009 report about Freedom in the World, Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
defined the opposition coalition (formed by PSDB, PPS
Socialist People's Party (Brazil)
The Socialist People's Party is a political party in Brazil.It was founded in 1992, after the Brazilian Communist Party decided to rename itself the Socialist People's Party as part of a political realignment following the collapse of the Soviet Union.The PPS was a part of the coalition government...
and Democrats) as a "center-right coalition". However, in the 2010 report of the same organization, PSDB was defined as a "center-left" party.
Workers' Party campaign leader Marco Aurélio de Melo criticized declarations made by PSDB president Sérgio Guerra that PSDB is "the real left". He said that "PSDB is not a right wing party, it is the right wing's party".
Political alignment
PSDB questions the use of what it considers "outdated political labels", such as "left" and "right". To quote a document drafted by Fernando Henrique CardosoFernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
's office in 1990:
"If left means to be against the existing social order, and right in favor, then social-democracy is without doubt a left current... A social democrat is before anything someone who has critical sense — who realizes the injustices of society and has no fear to oppose them, even at the risk of being taken as a subversive or a dreamer."
The party did not preach nationalization or privatization in general ("the consensus is that the state must not be too big or too small, but 'have the size and functions corresponding to the needs of the whole of society'"), although president Cardoso privatized many large public companies, such as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce
Vale S.A. Vale S.A. Vale S.A. (BM&F Bovespa: / , / , / , / , is an Brazilian diversified mining multinational corporation and one of the largest logistics operators in Brazil. In addition to being the second-largest mining company in the world, Vale is also the largest producer of iron ore,...
(CVRD) and the national telecommunication system.