Brazilian Labour Party
Brazilian Labour Party | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Roberto Jefferson |
| Founded | November 3, 1981 |
| Headquarters | SAS, Qd. 1, Bloco M, Ed. Libertas, Loja 101 Brasilia, Brazil |
| Ideology | Social democracy, Third Way, Populism |
| Political position | Centre-left/Centrist |
| Colours | Black, White, & Red |
| TSE Identification Number | 14 |
| Seats in the Chamber of Deputies | 22 |
| Seats in the Senate | 4 |
| Website | |
| http://www.ptb.org.br/ | |
The Brazilian Labour Party (Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro, PTB) is the name of two different parties, first a historical one and secondly a present-day party. The former was a left-populist political party that arose in 1945 supported by followers of Getúlio Vargas and later dissolved after 1964 military coup. In 1981, a centre-right party was formed under its legacy.
The early days of the party were much more prestigious, and showed many different characteristics from the party that exists today. The party was founded by followers of former president Getúlio Vargas. The PTB grew in the shadow of Vargas, the most important Brazilian politician of the early to mid-20th century. It was characterized by working-class support and some leftist policies. From 1945 to 1962 the PTB was the third force in Brazilian politics, after the Social Democratic Party (Brazil) (PSD) and the National Democratic Union (UDN), but it became more popular than the UDN in the 1962 Congressional elections. In 1950, the PTB elected Getúlio Dornelles Vargas for his second term. Since the party was a close ally of the PSD, it remained in power when Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira of the PSD was elected president in 1955.
Vargas committed suicide in 1954, and his heir João Goulart became the central figure in the party along with the populist Leonel Brizola. Goulart was elected vice-president in 1955 and 1960, becoming president in 1961 after the resignation of Jânio Quadros. The PTB was in power again, but Goulart was overthrown by a military coup d'état in 1964. Various PTB figures were removed from the National Congress of Brazil, and all political parties, including the PTB, were dissolved in 1965.
In 1981, the PTB was reformed after the military government decided to revoke legislation which enforced a two-party state. Ivete Vargas, niece of Getúlio Vargas, became the president of the party. Soon thereafter, a part of the PTB (The Centre-Leftist) led by Leonel Brizola broke with the party and founded the centre-left Democratic Labour Party (PDT). This break ensured that the PTB would abandon leftist politics, ultimately embracing the centre-right.
At the legislative elections, October 6, 2002, the party won 26 out of 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 3 out of 81 seats in the Senate. Today, the PTB participates in the coalition of the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and does not field presidential candidates. At the legislative elections of October 1, 2006, the party experienced some losses, winning 22 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
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