Workers' Party (Brazil) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Workers' Party Partido dos Trabalhadores
Abbreviation	PT
President	Gleisi Hoffmann
Vice President	Washington Quaquá
Honorary President	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Founded	10 February 1980; 45 years ago (1980-02-10)
Registered	11 February 1982 (1982-02-11)
Headquarters	São Paulo, Brazil Brasília, Brazil
Newspaper	Focus Brasil
Think tank	Fundação Perseu Abramo
Student wing	Juventude do PT
Membership (2024)	1,608,140
Ideology	Social democracy Progressivism Populism Lulism Factions: Democratic socialism Socialism of the 21st century Catholic left Liberation theology
Political position	Centre-left Factions: Left-wing
National affiliation	Brazil of Hope
Regional affiliation	São Paulo Forum COPPPAL
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance
Colors	Red      White
TSE Identification Number	13
Governorships	4 / 27
Mayors	182 / 5,570
Federal Senate	9 / 81
Chamber of Deputies	69 / 513
Mercosur Parliament	5 / 38
State Assemblies	83 / 1,024
City Councillors	2,665 / 56,810
Party flag
^ A: A broad left-wing faction, it includes some far-left factions.

The Workers' Party (known as Partido dos Trabalhadores, or PT) is a political party in Brazil. It is currently the country's ruling party.

The party was started in 1980. It led the Brazilian government from 2003 to 2016. After a break, it returned to power in 2022. Important leaders of the party include Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (often called Lula) and Dilma Rousseff.

The Workers' Party is known for its ideas of social democracy. This means it supports a mix of capitalism and social programs to help people. Its main symbols are a red star with the letters "PT" and a red flag. The party's special identification number is 13. People who support the party are called "Petistas".

How the Workers' Party Started

The Workers' Party was created on February 10, 1980, in São Paulo. It was formed by different groups of people. These included workers' union leaders, thinkers, artists, and Catholics who followed liberation theology. They all opposed Brazil's military government at the time.

The party grew from strong worker movements. These movements organized big strikes in the late 1970s. Many people who had been exiled or imprisoned by the military government also joined. Dilma Rousseff, a future president, was one of them.

The party was officially recognized by Brazil's election court on February 11, 1982. Its first members included famous writers and thinkers.

How the Party Grew and Won Elections

Since 1988, the Workers' Party has become very popular across Brazil. It won elections in many big cities like São Paulo and Porto Alegre. In Porto Alegre, the party made changes to help the poor. It also let citizens have a real say in how the city was run.

This success led to the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president in 2002. He was the party's candidate. The Workers' Party's main rival was the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB).

Presidential Elections

• 1989 Election: Lula ran for president and made it to the second round. He lost to Fernando Collor de Mello by a small number of votes.
• 1994 and 1998 Elections: Lula ran again but lost both times to Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Cardoso was popular because he created a new currency that stopped high inflation.
• 2002 Election: Lula finally won the presidential election in the second round. This was a big victory for the party.
• 2006 Election: Lula was re-elected president with more than 60% of the votes. The Workers' Party also gained many seats in the government.
• 2010 Election: Dilma Rousseff, another Workers' Party member, was elected president. She became the first female head of government in Brazil's history. The party also became the largest in the lower house of Congress.
• 2014 Election: Dilma Rousseff was re-elected for her second term. She won by a very close margin.
• 2018 Election: The Workers' Party candidate, Fernando Haddad, lost the election.
• 2022 Election: Lula ran for president again and won. The Workers' Party returned to power.

Party Members in Government

When the Workers' Party led the government, many of its members held important positions. They had a majority of roles in the government's leadership teams.

What the Workers' Party Believes In

The Workers' Party has always called itself "socialist." This means it believes in a society where everyone is equal and has fair opportunities.

In its early years, the party had some strong ideas. For example, it wanted to cancel Brazil's foreign debt. It also wanted the government to control banks and natural resources. The party also pushed for big changes in land ownership.

Over time, the party became a bit less radical. But it still believed in its core ideas. By 1997, the party started to define its socialism as a "democratic revolution." This meant it wanted to make the government more open and responsible to its people.

By 2002, the party's ideas became more moderate. Lula promised to reform taxes and pensions and help the economy grow. This shift helped him win the election. Some party members who disagreed with this change left to form new parties.

The party also has a strong group of Catholic members. These members are influenced by liberation theology. This idea combines Christian faith with social justice. These Catholic groups helped the party grow across Brazil. They provided meeting places and taught people about politics. Lula has said that the Catholic members played a very important role in the party.

Where the Party Gets Its Votes

Since 2006, most of the Workers' Party's votes in presidential elections have come from the North and Northeast regions of Brazil. The party has also done well in states like Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.

However, the party often faces strong opposition in São Paulo. It has only won elections there once in 2002. The party also struggles to win in some parts of the Center-South region.

The Workers' Party has kept its strong support in Northeast Brazil since Lula's first election in 2002. This region is a key area for the party.

The party is sometimes accused of using the differences between Brazil's North and South to gain votes. The party denies this.

According to a poll from 2010, the Workers' Party candidate, Dilma Rousseff, had strong support from poorer Brazilians. She also had more votes from Catholics, Black Brazilians, and mixed-race Brazilians.

Party Leaders

The Workers' Party has been led by several people since it started:

• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (1980–1994)
• Rui Falcão (1994)
• José Dirceu (1995–2002)
• José Genoíno (2002–2005)
• Tarso Genro (2005) (temporary leader)
• Ricardo Berzoini (2005–2006)
• Marco Aurélio Garcia (2006–2007) (temporary leader)
• Ricardo Berzoini (2007–2010)
• José Eduardo Dutra (2010–2011)
• Rui Falcão (2011–2017)
• Gleisi Hoffmann (since 2017)

Different Groups Within the Party

The Workers' Party has about thirty different groups or "factions" within it. These groups have slightly different ideas. They range from more central-left groups to those with more socialist or Christian socialist views.

Some groups are considered the "right-wing" of the party (closer to the center):

• Articulation - Unity on Struggle (AUNL)
• PT Movement
• Radical Democracy (DR)

Other groups are seen as the "left-wing" of the party:

• The Work (O Trabalho, OT)
• Left-wing Articulation (AE)
• Socialist Democracy (DS)
• Socialist Brazil (BS)
• Democratic Left (ED)
• Popular Socialist Left (EPS)
• Socialist Resistance (RS)

Some groups have left the party over the years to form their own parties.

Famous Members

Members of the Workers' Party are known as petistas.

Electoral History Tables

Presidential Elections

Election	Candidate	Running mate	Coalition	First round		Second round		Result
				Votes	%	Votes	%
1989	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT)	José Paulo Bisol (PSB)	PT; PSB; PCdoB	11,622,673	16.1% (#2)	31,076,364	47.0% (#2)	Lost
1994		Aloizio Mercadante (PT)	PT; PSB; PCdoB; PPS; PV; PSTU	17,122,127	27.0% (#2)	–	–	Lost
1998		Leonel Brizola (PDT)	PT; PDT; PSB; PCdoB; PCB	21,475,211	31.7% (#2)	–	–	Lost
2002		José Alencar (PL)	PT; PL; PCdoB; PMN; PCB	39,455,233	46.4% (#1)	52,793,364	61.3% (#1)	Elected Y
2006		José Alencar (PRB)	PT; PRB; PCdoB	46,662,365	48.6% (#1)	58,295,042	60.8% (#1)	Elected Y
2010	Dilma Rousseff (PT)	Michel Temer (PMDB)	PT; PMDB; PR; PSB; PDT; PCdoB; PSC; PRB; PTC; PTN	47,651,434	46.9% (#1)	55,752,529	56.1% (#1)	Elected Y
2014			PT; PMDB; PSD; PP; PR; PDT; PRB; PROS; PCdoB	43,267,668	41.6% (#1)	54,501,118	51.6% (#1)	Elected Y
2018	Fernando Haddad (PT)	Manuela d'Ávila (PCdoB)	PT; PCdoB; PROS	31,341,997	29.3% (#2)	47,040,380	44.8% (#2)	Lost
2022	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT)	Geraldo Alckmin (PSB)	PT; PCdoB; PV; PSOL; REDE; PSB; Solidariedade; Avante; Agir	57,259,405	48.4% (#1)	60,325,504	50.9% (#1)	Elected Y
Source: Election Resources: Federal Elections in Brazil – Results Lookup

Chamber of Deputies and Senate Elections

Election	Chamber of Deputies				Federal Senate				Status
	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
1982	1,458,719	3.5	8 / 479	8	1,538,786	3.6	0 / 25		Opposition
1986	3,253,999	6.9	16 / 487	8	–	–	0 / 49		Opposition
1990	4,128,052	10.2	35 / 502	19	–	–	1 / 31	1	Opposition
1994	5,959,854	13.1	49 / 513	14	13,198,319	13.8	4 / 54	3	Opposition
1998	8,786,528	13.2	58 / 513	9	11,392,662	18.4	7 / 81	3	Opposition
2002	16,094,080	18.4	91 / 513	33	32,739,665	21.3	14 / 81	7	Coalition
2006	13,989,859	15.0	83 / 513	8	16,222,159	19.2	10 / 81	4	Coalition
2010	16,289,199	16.9	88 / 513	5	39,410,141	23.1	15 / 81	5	Coalition
2014	13,554,166	14.0	68 / 513	20	15,155,818	17.0	12 / 81	3	Coalition (2014–2016)
									Opposition (2016–2018)
2018	10,126,611	10.3	56 / 513	12	24,785,670	14.5	6 / 81	6	Opposition
2022	15,354,125	13.9	69 / 513	13	12,456,553	12.2	9 / 81	3	Coalition
Sources: Georgetown University, Election Resources, Rio de Janeiro State University

Images for kids

• 

  Lula, at the time a Federal Deputy, makes a speech at the 1988 Brazilian Constituent Assembly

• 

  Workers' Party regional branch in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais

• 

  Presidential elections against PSDB between 1994 and 2014

• 

  PT as a black cat chasing a toucan (PSDB's mascot) by Carlos Latuff

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  Demonstration of the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) — Brazil's largest national trade union center — in Brasília. Both CUT and PT share the same origin and both organizations maintain a strong connection

• 

  Activists of the Landless Workers' Movement, one of the main social movements linked to the Worker's Party

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  PT supporters in the 2018 election. The banner in the front says "Lula is arrested unfairly".

See also

In Spanish: Partido de los Trabajadores (Brasil) para niños