Brazilian Democratic Movement Party

Not to be confused with Brazilian Democratic Movement.
Brazilian Democratic Movement Party
President Michel Temer
Founded December 4, 1965 (MDB)
June 30, 1981 (registered as PMDB)
Preceded by Brazilian Democratic Movement
Headquarters Câmara dos Deputados - Presidência do PMDB, Ed. Principal sala T4 - Esplanada dos Ministérios
Brasília
Ideology Centrism[1]
Catch-all[2][3]
Political position Centre[4]
National affiliation With the strength of the people
International affiliation None
Colours Green, yellow, red, black
TSE Identification Number 15
Seats in the Chamber of Deputies
67 / 513
Seats in the Senate
17 / 81
Governors
7 / 27
Seats in State Assemblies
147 / 1,059
Local Government
1,022 / 5,566
City councillors
7,825 / 51,748
Website
http://pmdb.org.br/
Politics of Brazil
Political parties
Elections

The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (Portuguese: Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro, PMDB) is the successor of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB). It is a big tent party with no defined ideology,[3] including a range of politicians from conservatives as Valter Nagelstein to social liberals as Jarbas Vasconcelos, populists as Íris Resende, nationalists as Roberto Requião as well as the former guerrilla movement MR-8.

Under military rule from 1965 to 1979, Brazil had a legally enforced two party system, with supporters of the regime gathered under the National Renewal Alliance Party (ARENA) umbrella, and the official opposition making up the MDB. From 1979 onwards, a restricted number of parties were allowed, and the PMDB emerged. In 1985, party leader Tancredo Neves won the presidential election. He died at the beginning of his term, but his running mate Jose Sarney, also a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, became president, serving until 1990. He was the only president of Brazil to come from the party, and in recent presidential elections the party has not run presidential candidates, preferring to focus on congressional and governatorial elections.

At the legislative elections, 6 October 2002, the party won 74 out of 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 19 out of 81 seats in the Senate, making it one of the biggest parties in Brazil.

The party decided not to launch a candidate for the 2006 presidential election in order to be free to make any coalition in the states. Under Brazilian electoral law, parties launching presidential candidates cannot make any alliance at state level unless such state coalition comprises parties allied at country level. At the congressional elections which occurred at the same time as the presidential elections in October 2006, the PMDB won 89 of 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, becoming the biggest party in the Chamber of Deputies, and following elections to 1/3 of the Senate, it will have 15 of the 81 seats, becoming the third largest party in the Senate. The PMDB also won 7 state gubernatorial elections in October 2006.

In 2010, the party made gains in the Senate, winning 16 of the elected seats for a total of 20. It was somewhat weakened in other elections, winning 79 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (becoming the second largest party) and winning 5 state governorships.

Notable PMDB members include: Wanderlei Silva, Tancredo Neves, Ulysses Guimarães, Itamar Franco, Orestes Quércia, Michel Temer, Anthony Garotinho, José Sarney, Renan Calheiros, Pedro Simon, Roberto Requião, Germano Rigotto, Paulo Skaf, Ramez Tebet, Marcelo Fortuna, Iris Rezende and Maguito Vilela.

See also

External links

References

  1. Porto, Mauro P. (2008). Democratization and Election News Coverage in Brazil. Handbook of Election News Coverage Around the World (Routledge). p. 253.
  2. Rhodes, Sybil (2006). Social Movements and Free-Market Capitalism in Latin America. State University of New York Press. p. 117.
  3. 1 2 Lansford, Tom, ed. (2014). "Switzerland". Political Handbook of the World 2014 (CQ Press/SAGE). p. 183. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. Power, Timothy J. (2008). Kingstone, Peter, ed. Centering Democracy?: Ideological Cleavages and Convergence in the Brazilian Political Class. Democratic Brazil Revisited (University of Pittsburgh Press). p. 89.
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