List of political parties in Brazil
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Brazil has a multi-party system since 1979, when the country's military dictatorship disbanded an enforced two-party system and allowed the creation of multiple parties.[1] All candidates for federal, state, Federal District, and municipal offices must be nominated by a political party, independent politicians are not allowed to run for office in Brazil.
Above the broad range of political parties in Brazilian Congress, the Workers' Party (PT), the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), the Liberal Party (PL), the Progressives (PP) and the Brazil Union (UNIÃO) together control the absolute majority of seats in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies.[2] Smaller parties often make alliances with at least one of these five major parties.[3] The number of political parties reached the apex of 35 on 2018, 30 of which were represented in congress after the 2018 general election.[4] [5] [6] However, an electoral threshold introduced on 2017 has resulted in the culling and merger of many parties, as it cuts access to party subsidies and free party political broadcasts.[4] [7] In 2021, there was the creation of the Party Federations (Portuguese: Federações Partidárias), a legal mechanism that allows two or more parties to act as a single entity in Congress for at least four years, sharing a common program and leadership, while maintaining their individual identities and registration, and granting them the benefits of surpassing the electoral threshold.[8]
Brazilian parties have access to party subsidies in form of the Fundo Partidário (lit. 'Party Fund') and the Fundo Eleitoral (lit. 'Electoral Fund') for elections.[9] And a system of free party political broadcasts during election time known as the horário eleitoral gratuito.[10]
Since 1982, Brazilian political parties have been given an electoral number to make it easier for illiterate people to vote. Initially, it was a one-digit number: 1 for PDS, 2 for PDT, 3 for PT, 4 for PTB, and 5 for PMDB. When it became clear that there was going to be more than nine parties, two-digit numbers were assigned, with the first five parties having a "1" added to their former one-digit number (PDS becoming number 11, PDT 12, PT 13, PTB 14, and PMDB 15). Political parties often change their names, but they can retain their number.
Active parties
[edit ]Parties with representation in the National Congress
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Parties without representation in the National Congress
[edit ]
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Party federations
[edit ]On 28 September 2021, Law No. 14,208 was enacted, establishing "federations" (Portuguese: federações). These federations are associations between parties, considered as a single party in elections and legislative activities such as the creation of caucuses and committees. The associated parties must belong to the federation for at least four years from the date of its registration, with penalties if they leave before the deadline.
The establishment of party federations followed the abolition of coalitions in proportional elections, which had functioned as single parties in seat allocation. This change was implemented through Constitutional Amendment No. 97 of 2017, which also introduced an electoral threshold for future parliamentary elections. Parties and federations that surpass this threshold gain access to public subsidies through the Party Fund (Portuguese: Fundo Partidário) and are entitled to free advertising on radio and television.
Below are listed the federations currently registered with the Superior Electoral Court:[22]
| Federation | President | Representation[23] [24] [25] | Parties | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deputies | Senators | Assemb. | ||||
| Brazil of Hope Federation Federação Brasil da Esperança |
Luciana Santos | 79 / 513
|
9 / 81
|
156 / 1,059
|
PT | |
| PCdoB | ||||||
| PV | ||||||
| PSDB Cidadania Federation Federação PSDB Cidadania |
Marconi Perillo | 17 / 513
|
3 / 81
|
74 / 1,059
|
PSDB | |
| Cidadania | ||||||
| PSOL REDE Federation Federação PSOL REDE |
Paula Coradi | 14 / 513
|
0 / 81
|
28 / 1,059
|
PSOL | |
| REDE | ||||||
Extinct parties
[edit ]This list presents the parties of the current Sixth Republic that were once registered with the Superior Electoral Court, but have ceased to exist. The existence of all these parties has ended by the result of mergers.
- Democrats - DEM (Democratas)[a]
- Party of the Nation's Retirees - PAN (Partido dos Aposentados da Nação)
- Christian Democratic Party (1985) [pt] - PDC (Partido Democrata Cristão)
- Democratic Social Party - PDS (Partido Democrático Social)
- Workers' General Party - PGT (Partido Geral dos Trabalhadores)
- Humanist Party of Solidarity - PHS (Partido Humanista da Solidariedade)[b]
- Liberal Party (1985) - PL (Partido Liberal)
- Free Fatherland Party - PPL (Partido Pátria Livre)
- Progressive Party (1993) - PP (Partido Progressista)
- Reform Progressive Party - PPR (Partido Progressista Reformador)
- Party of Reconstruction of the National Order - PRONA (Partido de Reedificação da Ordem Nacional)
- Republican Party of the Social Order - PROS (Partido Republicano da Ordem Social)
- Progressive Republican Party - PRP (Partido Republicano Progressista)
- Social Christian Party - PSC (Partido Social Cristão)
- Social Democratic Party (1987) - PSD (Partido Social Democrático)
- Social Liberal Party - PSL (Partido Social Liberal)
- Social Labour Party (1983) - PST (Partido Social Trabalhista)
- Brazilian Labour Party (1981) - PTB (Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro)
- Renewal Labour Party - PTR (Partido Trabalhista Renovador)
- Patriot (Patriota)[c]
Historical parties
[edit ]This list presents the parties that never reached the Sixth Republic. Due to the large number of parties that were dissolved, especially during the First and Second Republics, it is not intended to be an exhaustive list.
Imperial Brazil (1822–1889)
[edit ]- Conservative Party (Partido Conservador)
- Liberal Party (Partido Liberal)
- Progressive League (Liga Progressista)[d]
- Paulista Republican Party - PRP (Partido Republicano Paulista)
- Rio-grandense Republican Party - PRR (Partido Republicano Rio-Grandense)
- Minas Gerais Republican Party - PRM (Partido Republicano Mineiro)
- Fluminense Republican Party - PRF (Partido Republicano Fluminense)
- Federal Republican Party - PRF (Partido Republicano Federal)
- Conservative Republican Party - PRC (Partido Republicano Conservador)
- Democratic Party - PD (Partido Democrático)
- Liberating Party - PL (Partido Libertador)
- Brazilian Black Front - FNB (Frente Negra Brasileira)
- Catholic Electoral League (Liga Eleitoral Católica)
- Brazilian Integralist Action - AIB (Ação Integralista Brasileira)
Fourth Republic (1945–1964)
[edit ]- National Democratic Union - UDN (União Democrática Nacional)
- Brazilian Labour Party (1945) - PTB (Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro)
- Brazilian Socialist Party (1945) [pt] - PSB (Partido Socialista Brasileiro)[e]
- Orienting Labour Party - POT (Partido Orientador Trabalhista)
- Christian Democratic Party (1945) [pt] - PDC (Partido Democrata Cristão)
- Social Democratic Party (1945) - PSD (Partido Social Democrático)
- Republican Party - PR (Partido Republicano)
- Popular Representation Party - PRP (Partido de Representação Popular)
- National Labour Party - PTN (Partido Trabalhista Nacional)
- Social Labour Party (1946) [pt] - PST (Partido Social Trabalhista)[f]
- Social Progressive Party - PSP (Partido Social Progressista)[g]
- Republican Labour Party [pt] - PRT (Partido Republicano Trabalhista)[h]
- Renewal Labour Movement [pt] - MTR (Movimento Trabalhista Renovador)
Military Dictatorship (1964–1985)
[edit ]- National Renewal Alliance - ARENA (Aliança Renovadora Nacional)
- Brazilian Democratic Movement - MDB (Movimento Democrático Brasileiro)
See also
[edit ]Notes
[edit ]- ^ Known from 1985 to 2007 as the Party of the Liberal Front (Partido da Frente Liberal).
- ^ Known from 1995 to 1998 as the National Solidarist Party (Partido Solidarista Nacional), and from 1998 to 2000 as the Party of National Solidarity (Partido da Solidariedade Nacional).
- ^ Known from 2011 to 2017 as the National Ecological Party (Partido Ecológico Nacional).
- ^ Also called Progressive Party.
- ^ Known from 1945 to 1947 as the Democratic Left (Esquerda Democrática).
- ^ Known from 1946 to 1947 as the Proletarian Party of Brazil (Partido Proletário do Brasil).
- ^ Created from the merger of three parties: the National Agrarian Party (Partido Agrário Nacional), the Popular Syndicalist Party (Partido Popular Sindicalista) and the Progressive Republican Party (Partido Republicano Progressista).
- ^ Known from 1958 until its dissolution in 1965 as the Rural Labour Party (Partido Rural Trabalhista).
References
[edit ]- ^ Sousa, Ana Cristina Augusto de; Silva, Lays Correa da (6 August 2021). "Redemocratização no Brasil: continuidade ou ruptura?". Topoi (Rio de Janeiro) (in Portuguese). 22 (47): 570–575. doi:10.1590/2237-101X02204713 . ISSN 1518-3319. S2CID 238849517.
- ^ Freedom House report on Brazil, 2007
- ^ "Estatísticas do eleitorado – Eleitores filiados". tse.jus.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Número de partidos na Câmara deve cair após ápice da fragmentação em 2018". Poder360 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 24 February 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
- ^ "Brasil tem 75 partidos políticos em processo de formação". Archived from the original on 19 November 2023.
- ^ "Brasil vai às urnas em outubro com 35 partidos". Senado Federal (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 16 October 2022.
- ^ "Perspectiva é de fusão entre partidos". Valor Econômico (in Brazilian Portuguese). 4 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
- ^ "Saiba o que é uma federação partidária". Justiça Eleitoral (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 26 September 2025.
- ^ Fundo Partidário (estudo) Archived 2014年11月29日 at the Wayback Machine. Por Miriam Campelo de Melo Amorim. Brasília: Biblioteca Digital da Câmara dos Deputados, outubro de 2005.
- ^ "L9504". www.planalto.gov.br. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
- ^ "Bancadas atuais da Câmara dos Deputados". Chamber of Deputies . Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "Senadores em Exercício". Federal Senate . Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Resultado da Eleição". sig.tse.jus.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "Ala vê impacto eleitoral na divisão 'PL raiz' e 'PL bolsonarista'" [Faction sees electoral impact in the division between "old school PL" and "Bolsonarist PL"]. Poder360 (in Portuguese). 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
The PL president has always been used to a more pragmatic party that participates in governments. After Bolsonaro's entry, a large part of the party became more right-wing and inflexible towards some local alliances with parties that have a different ideological vision.
- ^ "PL muda estatuto para tentar liderar direita bolsonarista; 'exílio' incomoda partido" [PL changes statute to try to lead the Bolsonarist right; "exile" bothers party]. Estadão (in Portuguese). 3 January 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
- ^ "João Campos busca atrair políticos de fora da esquerda para o PSB, a exemplo do pai" [João Campos seeks to attract politicians from outside the left to the PSB, like his father]. Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). 23 June 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
- ^ "A trajetória do PSB, o partido que quer lançar Joaquim Barbosa à Presidência" [The track record of the PSB, the party that wants to launch Joaquim Barbosa for President]. BBC News Brasil (in Portuguese). São Paulo. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
One of the criticisms leveled at the current PSB is that it has left part of its ideology in the drawer in the face of a larger project of power. This has created an apparent dichotomy: while the group has names closely identified with the left, such as Bahia's senator Lídice da Mata, there are also politicians such as the current governor of São Paulo, Márcio França, who has been allied with the PSDB for years.
'Eduardo Campos saw that he needed to reach out to other sectors of society in order to make the PSB a national party. Because of this, he opened the party for people who were not very close to our values', says federal deputy Júlio Delgado. - ^ a b Gentil, Vinicius Miranda (2018). Um lugar ao sol: o Partido Socialismo e Liberdade – PSOL – e novos arranjos políticos da nova esquerda [A place in the sun: the Socialism and Liberty Party – PSOL – and new political arrangements of the new left] (DSocSc thesis) (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: University of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ^ a b Oliveira, Heythor Santana de (2017). PSOL - Relação da origem no desenvolvimento de sua organização, participação eleitoral e atuação parlamentar [PSOL - Relationship between its origins and the development of its organization, electoral participation and parliamentary action] (MPS thesis) (in Portuguese). São Carlos: Federal University of São Carlos. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ^ Serafini, Mariana (15 December 2022). "Grilo falante: O PSOL quer ser a voz progressista na ampla aliança de apoio ao governo Lula" [A talking cricket: PSOL wants to be the progressive voice in the broad alliance supporting the Lula government]. CartaCapital (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ^ a b Silva, José Benedito da; Siqueira, André (3 January 2020). "Cidadania: o velho 'Partidão' ficou liberal" [Cidadania: the old "Partidão" became liberal]. Veja (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 July 2025.
The change is not just cosmetic: the party has abandoned the Marxism-Leninism of the old days and the 'democratic socialism' of the years after the fall of the Berlin Wall to embrace a combination that unites the defense of economic liberalism with a strong progressive discourse in the social area.
The move is not accidental. In recent months, the party has attracted various political renewal groups such as RenovaBR, Agora!, Livres and Acredito, all guided by a certain humanist liberalism and imbued with the pretension of building an alternative to the polarization between the right, represented by Bolsonaro, and the left, still led by Lula and the PT. - ^ "Federações partidárias registradas no TSE". www.tse.jus.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 July 2025.
- ^ "Bancadas Atuais". www.camara.leg.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 July 2025.
- ^ "Senadores em Exercício". www25.senado.leg.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 July 2025.
- ^ "Resultado da Eleição". sig.tse.jus.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 July 2025.