Dados is one of the most widely-read social sciences journals in Latin America. Created in 1966, it publishes innovative works, originating from academic research, by Brazilian and foreign authors. Edited by IESP-UERJ, it aims to reconcile scientific rigor and academic excellence with an emphasis on public debate based on the analysis of substantive issues of society and politics.
Dados vol. 45 n. 1 Rio de Janeiro 2002
Abstract
This article analyzes the issue of party unity, investigating the factors that favor or discourage party breaks. Three independent variables are proposed, forming a model that seeks to evaluate the possibilities for splitting or maintaining party organization. The variables are the intra-partisan institutional arrangement, internal ideological dissent, and the electoral costs of a split. The model is applied to the case of the Workers' Party (PT), seeking to evaluate which factors are the strongest in this party, those leading to a split or those favoring maintenance of unity in the party's organization. The study draws on various data sources, including party documents and bylaws, theses proposed by party factions, and election results, covering four national events in the 1990s. The study contends that intra-partisan institutional arrangements and the electoral costs of a split have strongly discouraged any break in the PT as a political party, and that if all else remains constant, these factors will continue to produce the same effects in the foreseeable future.
Keywords: political party, party organization, Workers' Party
DOI: 10.1590/S0011-52582002000100002
The Brazilian Workers' Party (PT) and the Party Unity Issue
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