As the first legal mass party of the left in Brazil's recent history, the Workers' Party has reflected and contributed to the country's transition from military rule to democracy. Keck describes its origins and formative years in the context of the growing political opposition to military rule.

This edited collection interprets and assesses the transformation of Brazil under the Workers' Party. It addresses the extent of the changes the Workers' Party has brought about and examines how successful these have been, as well as how continuity and social change in Brazil have affected key domains of economy, society, and politics.

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.

An up-to-date account of the sweeping victory for the left in Latin America's largest country. Look, my friend. I don't speak the language here, I've got no money, the food stinks, there's no rice, no beans. I'd rather be arrested in Brazil than stay in this dump of a country.Lula, on being advised to stay in the United States after his brother had been arrested in Brazil as a communist subversive, 1975 In October 2002, Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva made history when he became Latin America's first democratically elected socialist leader since Salvador Allende. Lula and his Workers' Party won comfortably with nearly 62 percent of Brazil's popular vote. This book examines the Workers' Party's origins and electoral history, outlining the key politicians behind it and the riveting story of their four successive tries for power. It charts Lula's extraordinary life story, his rise from poverty, decades of struggle in the country's union movement, and his increasing political influence and eventual victory. With coverage of the first six months of the new government, the authors explore how Lula's government is dealing with current crises elsewhere in Latin America from the neo-liberal collapse in Argentina to political instability in Venezuela, and how it is managing potentially difficult relations with the United States and the IMF.

While scholars, activists and pundits from around the world have heralded the Lula years as a breakthrough for poverty reduction and the forthcoming emergence of Brazil as a dynamic economic superpower, many of their counterparts in the country as well as a number of Brazilianists elsewhere, have expressed great disappointment. Tracing back the trajectory of Brazilian Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores - PT), Hernán F. Gómez Bruera explores how holding national executive public office contributed decisively to a pragmatic shift away from the party’s radical redistributive and participatory platform, earning the approbation of international audiences and criticisms of domestic progressives. He explains why a unique party, which originally promoted a radical progressive agenda of socio-economic redistribution and participatory democracy, eventually adopted an orthodox economic policy, formed legislative alliances with conservative parties, altered its relationship with social movements and relegated the participatory agenda to de sidelines. Touching on multiple dimensions, from economic policy and land reform to social policy, this book offers a distinct explanation as to why progressive parties of mass-based origin shift to the center over time and alter their relationships with their allies in civil society. Written in a clear and accessible style and featuring an enormous wealth of firsthand accounts from party leaders at all levels and within different factions, Gómez Bruera offers much needed new insights into why progressive parties alter their discourses and strategies when they occupy executive public office.