Brazilian Social Democracy Party

Brazilian Social Democracy Party Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira
Abbreviation	PSDB
Founded	25 June 1988
Legalised	24 August 1989
Split from	MDB
Headquarters	Brasília, Brazil
Think tank	Instituto Teotônio Vilela
Youth wing	Juventude PSDB
Women's wing	PSDB Mulher
Black wing	TucanAFRO
LGBT wing	Diversidade Tucana
Membership (2024)	1,326,233
Ideology	Third Way Factions: Social liberalism Liberal conservatism
Political position	Centre to centre-right
Regional affiliation	Christian Democrat Organization of America (observer)
International affiliation	Centrist Democrat International
Colors	Blue   Yellow
TSE identification number	45
Website
psdb.org.br

The Brazilian Social Democracy Party (Portuguese: Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira; abbreviated PSDB) is a Brazilian centre to centre-right political party. Founded in 1988 and registered in 1989, it emerged from a centre to centre-left split in the Brazilian Democratic Movement that sought to mix social democracy and Christian democracy with economic liberalism. It was the historical rival of the Workers' Party until the rise of more right-leaning Jair Bolsonaro. Currently, the party follows Third Way principles, seeking to be seen as a centrist party.

In addition to being the party of former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (better known as FHC), throughout history, PSDB supported former Presidents Itamar Franco and Michel Temer, and opposed former Presidents Fernando Collor, Lula, and Dilma Rousseff. At first, provided support and participated in the base of Bolsonaro's government, but joined the opposition in September 2021.

History overview

The Brazilian Social Democracy Party was founded in 1988, shortly before the promulgation of the Federal Constitution that year, which marked Brazil's return to democracy after more than two decades of military dictatorship.

Prominent figures in the founding of the PSDB include intellectuals and politicians such as Mário Covas, FHC, José Serra, among others. These founders came from different political currents, but initially shared a centre-left vision, committed to balanced economic policies, garnering support from social-democrats while the then more left-leaning Workers' Party garnered support from democratic socialists and trade unions.

The name "Brazilian Social Democracy Party" was chosen to represent a Brazilian version of social democracy, with the choice of a toucan as the party's symbol as a way of creating a unique visual identity that differentiates it from European social-democratic parties. Due to the logo, its members and sympathizers are called tucanos.

The party's peak was the presidency of FHC, who governed Brazil for two consecutive terms, between 1995 and 2002. His government was marked by economic reforms, such as the Plano Real, which stabilized the Brazilian economy and controlled hyperinflation, and also through social programs to help poor families, such as the Programa de Saúde da Família and Bolsa Escola. During his second government, FHC adopted neoliberal policies and saw his unpopularity grow.

Since the end of FHC's government, the party has alternated between governing and opposing the federal government. It run in several presidential elections, with José Serra, Geraldo Alckmin, and Aécio Neves as the main candidates from 2002 to 2018. Although it won important state governments, such as São Paulo and Minas Gerais, the party has not managed to regain the presidency since 2002.

In recent decades, the party has faced internal and external challenges, including corruption scandals, leadership disputes and changes in the national political landscape. There's also a growing ideological polarization in Brazil between the leftist Workers' Party supporters and rightist Bolsonaro supporters, leaving PSDB without a broad support.

Today, although a relevant force in Brazilian politics, PSDB faces the challenge of reinventing itself and attracting voters in an increasingly fragmented and polarized political scenario. Its ideological position has been the subject of internal debate, with some members defending a more centre-right turn and others maintaining a more centrist stance.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Year	Candidate	First round		Second round		Role
		Votes	Vote %	Votes	Vote %
1989	Mário Covas	7,786,939	11.5% (4th)			In opposition
1994	Fernando Henrique Cardoso	34,362,726	54.3 (1st)			In government coalition
1998		35,922,692	53.1 (1st)			In government coalition
2002	José Serra	19,694,843	23.2 (2nd)	33,356,860	38.7 (2nd)	In opposition
2006	Geraldo Alckmin	39,968,369	41.6 (2nd)	37,543,178	39.2 (2nd)	In opposition
2010	José Serra	33,132,283	32.6 (2nd)	43,711,388	44.0 (2nd)	In opposition
2014	Aécio Neves	34,897,211	33.6 (2nd)	51,041,155	48.4 (2nd)	In opposition
2018	Geraldo Alckmin	5,096,277	4.8 (4th)			In government coalition

Legislative elections

Election	Chamber of Deputies				Federal Senate				Role in government
	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
1990	3,515,809	8.68%	38 / 513	New	N/A	N/A	1 / 32	New	Independent
1994	6,350,941	13.90%	62 / 513	24	15,652,182	16.34%	9 / 54	8	Coalition
1998	11,684,900	17.54%	99 / 513	37	6,366,681	10.30%	16 / 81	5	Coalition
2002	12,473,743	14.26%	70 / 513	29	21,360,291	13.90%	11 / 81	5	Opposition
2006	12,691,043	13.62%	65 / 513	6	10,547,778	12.50%	14 / 81	3	Opposition
2010	11,477,380	11.88%	53 / 513	12	30,903,736	18.13%	11 / 81	3	Opposition
2014	11,073,631	11.39%	54 / 513	1	23,880,078	26.73%	10 / 81	1	Opposition (2014-2016)
									Coalition (2016-2018)
2018	5,905,541	6.01%	29 / 513	25	20,310,558	11.85%	8 / 81	2	Independent
2022	3,309,061	3.02%	13 / 513	16	1,394,547	1.37%	4 / 81	4	Independent

Municipal elections

Mayors

Year	Votes	% Votes	+/–	No. of overall seats won	+/–
2008	14,537,570	N/A	New	791 / 5,568	New
2012	13,950,000	13.57 (2nd)	N/A	693 / 5,568	94
2016	17,633,653	N/A	803 / 5,568	110
2020	10,332,139	N/A	520 / 5,568	283