The victory by Dilma Rousseff’’s Worker’s Party (PT) marks the third consecutive failure by Brazil’s Social Democrat Party (PSDB) to regain the presidency, raising questions about the PSDB’s electoral strategy and the party’s place in Brazilian politics.
In the aftermath of the presidential elections one voice has risen above all of the post-election chatter to mark the tone of the debate on the PSDB’s shortcomings and future as a party. In an interview with the Folha de Sáo Paulo former President (1995-2002), and honorary PSDB leader, Fernando Henrique Cardoso cited his party’s inability to defend its record as part of the reason for José Serra’s failure at the ballot box. Cardoso also placed part of the blame for the PSDB’s loss on a prolonged candidate selection process and poor marketing campaign.
Cardoso’s comments were met with skepticism by some PSDB legislators. Federal Deputy Jutahy Magalhães Jr. (PSDB-BA) called discussion on strategy four years before the presidential elections “totally inappropriate” while other legislators mimicked Cardoso’s complaints. Seeking to temper the very public debate on the PSDB’s future, the party leadership will host a discussion on the party’s next steps this week.
Cardoso’s call for the PSDB to “defend its history” and hasten leadership decisions reflect two related frustrations. Firstly, Cardoso is undoubtedly upset by the Serra campaign’s inability to defend his administration’s (debatable) contribution to Brazil’s current successes, and secondly, his calls for an earlier candidate selection process signals his belief in the PSDB brand and not in individuals within the party.
Is Cardoso on to something?
As we’ve discussed in earlier posts, after eight years of a Lula government the Cardoso/PSDB legacy seems to have long become irrelevant to voters. Confirming the lackluster of the PSDB brand, many of the party’s candidates triumphed in this year’s election cycle by playing to their particular attributes and not their party affiliations. The PSDB’s candidates for governorships and senate seats in the states of Pará and Tocantins for instance -in the PT/PMDB’s northern base- succeeded independent of their parties and the fact that those states voted overwhelmingly for Dilma Rousseff. The electorate’s preferences for candidates and not parties is also evident in Ms. Rousseff’s home state of Rio Grande do Sul which voted for José Serra yet elected a PT candidate for governor.
If the results of this year’s presidential elections demonstrated anything it is that personal politics are alive and well in Brazil and that allegiances to parties or governing coalitions are fickle at best. In a country where nearly all party platforms are skewed leftward and difficult to differentiate, candidates matter and they matter big. The election of Dilma Rousseff should be proof enough of this.
(Photo: Eduardo Knapp/Folhapress)
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