The Transformation of the Workers' Party in Brazil, 1989-2009

Wendy Hunter

Cambridge University Press, Sep 20, 2010 - Political Science - 252 pages

Drawing on historical institutionalism and strategic frameworks, this book analyzes the evolution of the Workers' Party between 1989, the year of Lula's first presidential bid, and 2009, when his second presidential term entered its final stretch. The book's primary purpose is to understand why and how the once-radical Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) moderated the programmatic positions it endorsed and adopted other aspects of a more catch-all electoral strategy, thereby increasing its electoral appeal. At the same time, the book seeks to shed light on why some of the PT's distinctive normative commitments and organizational practices have endured in the face of adaptations aimed at expanding the party's vote share. The conclusion asks whether, in the face of these changes and continuities, the PT can still be considered a mass organized party of the left.

About the author

Wendy Hunter is Associate Professor of Government at the University of Texas, Austin. Her early work focused on Latin American militaries during the transition from authoritarian rule. A second phase of her research career was devoted to social policy decision making and human capital formation in Latin America. More recently, she has been engaged in understanding the growth and transformation of the Workers' Party in Brazil from 1989 until the present. She is the author of Eroding Military Influence in Brazil, and her articles have appeared in Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Political Science Quarterly, the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Democracy and World Politics. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Transformation of the Workers' Party in Brazil, 1989-2009
• Author: Wendy Hunter
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2010
• ISBN: 052151455X, 9780521514552
• Length: 252 pages
• Subjects: Political Science / Comparative Politics; Political Science / General