List of political parties in Brazil

Brazil has a multi-party system since 1979, when the country's military dictatorship disbanded an enforced two-party system and allowed the creation of multiple parties. ^[1]

Above the broad range of political parties in Brazilian Congress, the Workers' Party (PT), the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), the Liberal Party (PL), the Progressives (PP) and the Brazil Union (UNIÃO) together control the absolute majority of seats in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. ^[2] Smaller parties often make alliances with at least one of these five major parties. ^[3] The number of political parties reached the apex of 35 on 2018, 30 of which were represented in congress after the 2018 general election. ^{[4] [5] [6]} However, an electoral threshold introduced on 2017 has resulted in the culling and merger of many parties, as it cuts access to party subsidies and free party political broadcasts. ^{[4] [7]}

Brazilian parties have access to party subsidies in form of the Fundo Partidário (lit. 'Party Fund') and the Fundo Eleitoral (lit. 'Electoral Fund') for elections. ^[8] And a system of free party political broadcasts during election time known as the horário eleitoral gratuito. ^[9]

Since 1982, Brazilian political parties have been given an electoral number to make it easier for illiterate people to vote. Initially, it was a one-digit number: 1 for PDS, 2 for PDT, 3 for PT, 4 for PTB, and 5 for PMDB. When it became clear that there was going to be more than nine parties, two-digit numbers were assigned, with the first five parties having a "1" added to their former one-digit number (PDS becoming number 11, PDT 12, PT 13, PTB 14, and PMDB 15). Political parties often change their names, but they can retain their number.

Active parties

Parties with representation in the National Congress

Logo		Party		Ideology	Political position	Leader(s)	Chamber [10]	Senate [11]	Assemblies [12]	Governors
		Liberal Party Partido Liberal	PL	Right-wing populism Bolsonarism [13] [14]	Right-wing to far-right	Valdemar Costa Neto	88 / 513	14 / 81	128 / 1,059	2 / 27
		Workers' Party Partido dos Trabalhadores	PT	Social democracy Lulism	Centre-left	Edinho Silva	67 / 513	9 / 81	118 / 1,059	4 / 27
		Brazil Union União Brasil	UNIÃO	Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism	Centre-right to right-wing	Antônio de Rueda	59 / 513	7 / 81	98 / 1,059	4 / 27
		Progressives Progressistas	PP	Catch-all Liberal conservatism	Centre-right to right-wing	Ciro Nogueira	51 / 513	7 / 81	86 / 1,059	2 / 27
		Social Democratic Party Partido Social Democrático	PSD	Catch-all	Centre to centre-right	Gilberto Kassab	45 / 513	13 / 81	79 / 1,059	4 / 27
		Brazilian Democratic Movement Movimento Democrático Brasileiro	MDB	Catch-all Economic liberalism	Centre to centre-right	Baleia Rossi	44 / 513	12 / 81	94 / 1,059	3 / 27
		Republicans Republicanos	Repub.	Conservatism Christian right	Right-wing	Marcos Pereira	44 / 513	4 / 81	76 / 1,059	2 / 27
		Democratic Labour Party Partido Democrático Trabalhista	PDT	Labourism Left-wing nationalism	Centre-left to left-wing	Carlos Lupi	17 / 513	3 / 81	44 / 1,059	0 / 27
		Brazilian Socialist Party Partido Socialista Brasileiro	PSB	Progressivism Catch-all [15] [16]	Centre to centre-left	João Henrique Campos	15 / 513	4 / 81	54 / 1,059	3 / 27
		We Can Podemos	PODE	Liberal conservatism Direct democracy	Centre-right	Renata Abreu	15 / 513	4 / 81	48 / 1,059	0 / 27
		Brazilian Social Democracy Party Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira	PSDB	Liberalism Catch-all	Centre	Marconi Perillo	13 / 513	3 / 81	55 / 1,059	1 / 27
		Socialism and Liberty Party Partido Socialismo e Liberdade	PSOL	Democratic socialism [17] [18] Anti-capitalism [17] [18] Progressivism [19]	Left-wing to far-left	Paula Coradi	13 / 513	0 / 81	22 / 1,059	0 / 27
		Communist Party of Brazil Partido Comunista do Brasil	PCdoB	Communism Marxism-Leninism	Left-wing	Luciana Santos	8 / 513	0 / 81	18 / 1,059	0 / 27
		Forward Avante	Avante	Labourism Christian solidarism	Right-wing	Luis Tibé	8 / 513	0 / 81	14 / 1,059	0 / 27
		New Party Partido Novo	NOVO	Conservative liberalism Right-libertarianism	Right-wing	Eduardo Ribeiro	5 / 513	1 / 81	5 / 1,059	1 / 27
		Solidarity Solidariedade	Solid.	Social democracy Third Way	Centre	Paulinho da Força	5 / 513	0 / 81	29 / 1,059	1 / 27
		Democratic Renewal Party Partido Renovação Democrática	PRD	National conservatism Bolsonarism	Right-wing to far-right	Marcus Vinícius Neskau	5 / 513	0 / 81	25 / 1,059	0 / 27
		Green Party Partido Verde	PV	Green politics	Centre	José Luiz Penna	4 / 513	0 / 81	20 / 1,059	0 / 27
		Citizenship Cidadania	Cidad.	Liberalism [20] Progressivism [20]	Centre	Comte Bittencourt	4 / 513	0 / 81	19 / 1,059	0 / 27
		Sustainability Network Rede Sustentabilidade	REDE	Environmentalism	Centre	Paulo Lamac, Iaraci Dias	1 / 513	0 / 81	6 / 1,059	0 / 27
		Mission Party (unregistered) Partido Missão	MISSÃO	Conservatism [21] Bukelism [22] [23]	Centre-right to right-wing	Renan Santos  [ pt ]	1 / 513 [a]	0 / 81	1 / 1,059 [b]	0 / 27

Parties without representation in the National Congress

Logo		Party		Ideology	Political position	Leader(s)	Assemblies [12]
		Brazilian Labour Renewal Party Partido Renovador Trabalhista Brasileiro	PRTB	Conservatism Janismo	Right-wing to far-right	Leonardo Avalanche, Pablo Marçal	6 / 1,059
		Act Agir		Autistic people's interests	Centrism	Daniel Tourinho	5 / 1,059
		National Mobilization Mobilização Nacional	Mobiliza	Brazilian nationalism Third-worldism	Centre-right	Antonio Massarollo	5 / 1,059
		Brazilian Woman's Party Partido da Mulher Brasileira	PMB	Social conservatism Anti-feminism	Right-wing	Suêd Haidar	3 / 1,059
		Christian Democracy Democracia Cristã	DC	Christian democracy	Centre-right	José Maria Eymael	1 / 1,059
		Workers' Cause Party Partido da Causa Operária	PCO	Trotskyism Anti-Americanism	Far-left	Rui Costa Pimenta	—
		Brazilian Communist Party Partido Comunista Brasileiro	PCB	Marxism-Leninism	Far-left	Edmilson Costa	—
		United Socialist Workers' Party Partido Socialista dos Trabalhadores Unificado	PSTU	Trotskyism Morenismo	Far-left	Zé Maria	—
		Popular Unity Unidade Popular	UP	Revolutionary socialism Anti-capitalism Anti-racism	Far-left	Léo Péricles	—

Party federations

On 28 September 2021, Law No. 14,208 was enacted, establishing "federations" (Portuguese : federações). These federations are associations between parties, considered as a single party in elections and legislative activities such as the creation of caucuses and committees. The associated parties must belong to the federation for at least four years from the date of its registration, with penalties if they leave before the deadline.

The establishment of party federations followed the abolition of coalitions in proportional elections, which had functioned as single parties in seat allocation. This change was implemented through Constitutional Amendment No. 97 of 2017, which also introduced an electoral threshold for future parliamentary elections. Parties and federations that surpass this threshold gain access to public subsidies through the Party Fund (Portuguese : Fundo Partidário) and are entitled to free advertising on radio and television.

Below are listed the federations currently registered with the Superior Electoral Court: ^[27]

Federation	President	Representation [28] [29] [30]			Parties
		Deputies	Senators	Assemb.
Brazil of Hope Federation Federação Brasil da Esperança	Luciana Santos	79 / 513	9 / 81	156 / 1,059		PT
						PCdoB
						PV
PSDB Cidadania Federation Federação PSDB Cidadania	Marconi Perillo	17 / 513	3 / 81	74 / 1,059		PSDB
						Cidadania
PSOL REDE Federation Federação PSOL REDE	Paula Coradi	14 / 513	0 / 81	28 / 1,059		PSOL
						REDE

Extinct parties

This list presents the parties of the current Sixth Republic that were once registered with the Superior Electoral Court, but have ceased to exist. The existence of all these parties has ended by the result of mergers.

• Democrats - DEM (Democratas) ^[c]
• Party of the Nation's Retirees - PAN (Partido dos Aposentados da Nação)
• Christian Democratic Party (1985)  [ pt ] - PDC (Partido Democrata Cristão)
• Democratic Social Party - PDS (Partido Democrático Social)
• Workers' General Party - PGT (Partido Geral dos Trabalhadores)
• Humanist Party of Solidarity - PHS (Partido Humanista da Solidariedade) ^[d]
• Liberal Party (1985) - PL (Partido Liberal)
• Free Fatherland Party - PPL (Partido Pátria Livre)
• Progressive Party (1993) - PP (Partido Progressista)
• Reform Progressive Party - PPR (Partido Progressista Reformador)
• Party of Reconstruction of the National Order - PRONA (Partido de Reedificação da Ordem Nacional)
• Republican Party of the Social Order - PROS (Partido Republicano da Ordem Social)
• Progressive Republican Party - PRP (Partido Republicano Progressista)
• Social Christian Party - PSC (Partido Social Cristão)
• Social Democratic Party (1987) - PSD (Partido Social Democrático)
• Social Liberal Party - PSL (Partido Social Liberal)
• Social Labour Party (1983) - PST (Partido Social Trabalhista)
• Brazilian Labour Party (1981) - PTB (Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro)
• Renewal Labour Party - PTR (Partido Trabalhista Renovador)
• Patriot (Patriota) ^[e]

Historical parties

This list presents the parties that never reached the Sixth Republic. Due to the large number of parties that were dissolved, especially during the First and Second Republics, it is not intended to be an exhaustive list.

Imperial Brazil (1822–1889)

• Conservative Party (Partido Conservador)
• Liberal Party (Partido Liberal)
• Progressive League (Liga Progressista) ^[f]

First and Second Republics (1889–1937)

• Paulista Republican Party - PRP (Partido Republicano Paulista)
• Rio-grandense Republican Party - PRR (Partido Republicano Rio-Grandense)
• Minas Gerais Republican Party - PRM (Partido Republicano Mineiro)
• Fluminense Republican Party - PRF (Partido Republicano Fluminense)
• Federal Republican Party - PRF (Partido Republicano Federal)
• Conservative Republican Party - PRC (Partido Republicano Conservador)
• Democratic Party - PD (Partido Democrático)
• Liberating Party - PL (Partido Libertador)
• Brazilian Black Front - FNB (Frente Negra Brasileira)
• Catholic Electoral League (Liga Eleitoral Católica)
• Brazilian Integralist Action - AIB (Ação Integralista Brasileira)

Fourth Republic (1945–1964)

• National Democratic Union - UDN (União Democrática Nacional)
• Brazilian Labour Party (1945) - PTB (Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro)
• Brazilian Socialist Party (1945)  [ pt ] - PSB (Partido Socialista Brasileiro) ^[g]
• Orienting Labour Party - POT (Partido Orientador Trabalhista)
• Christian Democratic Party (1945)  [ pt ] - PDC (Partido Democrata Cristão)
• Social Democratic Party (1945) - PSD (Partido Social Democrático)
• Republican Party - PR (Partido Republicano)
• Popular Representation Party - PRP (Partido de Representação Popular)
• National Labour Party - PTN (Partido Trabalhista Nacional)
• Social Labour Party (1946)  [ pt ] - PST (Partido Social Trabalhista) ^[h]
• Social Progressive Party - PSP (Partido Social Progressista) ^[i]
• Republican Labour Party  [ pt ] - PRT (Partido Republicano Trabalhista) ^[j]
• Renewal Labour Movement  [ pt ] - MTR (Movimento Trabalhista Renovador)

Military Dictatorship (1964–1985)

• National Renewal Alliance - ARENA (Aliança Renovadora Nacional)
• Popular Party  [ pt ] - PP (Partido Popular)

See also

• Politics of Brazil
• List of political parties by country

Notes

1. Kim Kataguiri, deputy from the state of São Paulo; ^[24] officially affiliated to Brazil Union. ^[25]
2. Guto Zacarias  [ pt ], member of the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo; ^[24] officially affiliated to Brazil Union. ^[26]
3. Known from 1985 to 2007 as the Party of the Liberal Front (Partido da Frente Liberal).
4. Known from 1995 to 1998 as the National Solidarist Party (Partido Solidarista Nacional), and from 1998 to 2000 as the Party of National Solidarity (Partido da Solidariedade Nacional).
5. Known from 2011 to 2017 as the National Ecological Party (Partido Ecológico Nacional).
6. Also called Progressive Party.
7. Known from 1945 to 1947 as the Democratic Left (Esquerda Democrática).
8. Known from 1946 to 1947 as the Proletarian Party of Brazil (Partido Proletário do Brasil).
9. Created from the merger of three parties: the National Agrarian Party (Partido Agrário Nacional), the Popular Syndicalist Party (Partido Popular Sindicalista) and the Progressive Republican Party (Partido Republicano Progressista).
10. Known from 1958 until its dissolution in 1965 as the Rural Labour Party (Partido Rural Trabalhista).

References

1. Sousa, Ana Cristina Augusto de; Silva, Lays Correa da (6 August 2021). "Redemocratização no Brasil: continuidade ou ruptura?". Topoi (Rio de Janeiro) (in Portuguese). 22 (47): 570–575. doi: 10.1590/2237-101X02204713 . ISSN   1518-3319. S2CID   238849517.
2. Freedom House report on Brazil, 2007
3. "Estatísticas do eleitorado – Eleitores filiados". tse.jus.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
4. "Número de partidos na Câmara deve cair após ápice da fragmentação em 2018". Poder360 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 24 February 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
5. "Brasil tem 75 partidos políticos em processo de formação". Archived from the original on 19 November 2023.
6. "Brasil vai às urnas em outubro com 35 partidos". Senado Federal (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 16 October 2022.
7. "Perspectiva é de fusão entre partidos". Valor Econômico (in Brazilian Portuguese). 4 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
8. Fundo Partidário (estudo) Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine . Por Miriam Campelo de Melo Amorim. Brasília: Biblioteca Digital da Câmara dos Deputados, outubro de 2005.
9. "L9504". www.planalto.gov.br. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
10. "Bancadas atuais da Câmara dos Deputados". Chamber of Deputies . Retrieved 15 September 2024.
11. "Senadores em Exercício". Federal Senate . Retrieved 15 September 2024.
12. "Resultado da Eleição". sig.tse.jus.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 September 2024.
13. "Ala vê impacto eleitoral na divisão 'PL raiz' e 'PL bolsonarista'" [Faction sees electoral impact in the division between “old school PL” and “Bolsonarist PL”]. Poder360 (in Portuguese). 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2025. The PL president has always been used to a more pragmatic party that participates in governments. After Bolsonaro's entry, a large part of the party became more right-wing and inflexible towards some local alliances with parties that have a different ideological vision.
14. "PL muda estatuto para tentar liderar direita bolsonarista; 'exílio' incomoda partido" [PL changes statute to try to lead the Bolsonarist right; "exile" bothers party]. Estadão (in Portuguese). 3 January 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
15. "João Campos busca atrair políticos de fora da esquerda para o PSB, a exemplo do pai" [João Campos seeks to attract politicians from outside the left to the PSB, like his father]. Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). 23 June 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
16. "A trajetória do PSB, o partido que quer lançar Joaquim Barbosa à Presidência" [The track record of the PSB, the party that wants to launch Joaquim Barbosa for President]. BBC News Brasil (in Portuguese). São Paulo. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2025. One of the criticisms leveled at the current PSB is that it has left part of its ideology in the drawer in the face of a larger project of power. This has created an apparent dichotomy: while the group has names closely identified with the left, such as Bahia's senator Lídice da Mata, there are also politicians such as the current governor of São Paulo, Márcio França, who has been allied with the PSDB for years.
    'Eduardo Campos saw that he needed to reach out to other sectors of society in order to make the PSB a national party. Because of this, he opened the party for people who were not very close to our values', says federal deputy Júlio Delgado.
17. Gentil, Vinicius Miranda (2018). Um lugar ao sol: o Partido Socialismo e Liberdade – PSOL – e novos arranjos políticos da nova esquerda [A place in the sun: the Socialism and Liberty Party – PSOL – and new political arrangements of the new left] (DSocSc thesis) (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: University of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
18. Oliveira, Heythor Santana de (2017). PSOL - Relação da origem no desenvolvimento de sua organização, participação eleitoral e atuação parlamentar [PSOL - Relationship between its origins and the development of its organization, electoral participation and parliamentary action] (MPS thesis) (in Portuguese). São Carlos: Federal University of São Carlos. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
19. Serafini, Mariana (15 December 2022). "Grilo falante: O PSOL quer ser a voz progressista na ampla aliança de apoio ao governo Lula" [A talking cricket: PSOL wants to be the progressive voice in the broad alliance supporting the Lula government]. CartaCapital (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 July 2025.
20. Silva, José Benedito da; Siqueira, André (3 January 2020). "Cidadania: o velho 'Partidão' ficou liberal" [Cidadania: the old "Partidão" became liberal]. Veja (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 July 2025. The change is not just cosmetic: the party has abandoned the Marxism-Leninism of the old days and the 'democratic socialism' of the years after the fall of the Berlin Wall to embrace a combination that unites the defense of economic liberalism with a strong progressive discourse in the social area.
    The move is not accidental. In recent months, the party has attracted various political renewal groups such as RenovaBR, Agora!, Livres and Acredito, all guided by a certain humanist liberalism and imbued with the pretension of building an alternative to the polarization between the right, represented by Bolsonaro, and the left, still led by Lula and the PT.
21. Hobbs, Guilherme (28 December 2024). "Reflexões sobre o novo Partido Missão no congresso do MBL" [Reflections on the new Mission Party at the MBL congress]. Gazeta do Povo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 July 2025. The theoretical reflections at the 2024 Congress reinforced the drift, noticeable since the Bolsonaro government, of the Movement away from liberal orthodoxy and towards properly conservative positions reminiscent of Gilberto Freyre and Oliveira Viana (cited positively at the Congress). This distancing is explained, in part, by the MBL members' disappointment with the perceived capitulation of a large part of the liberal movement to Bolsonarism, especially sensitive in the case of the New Party, whose founder, João Amoedo, abandoned his party because he refused to be part of a Bolsonarist organization.
22. "Partido do MBL quer eliminar traficantes e pode lançar Danilo Gentili à Presidência" [MBL's party wants to eliminate drug dealers and may launch Danilo Gentili for President]. Gazeta do Povo (in Portuguese). 14 July 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025. Even so, the emphasis on public security consolidates the new phase of the MBL, which has sidelined calls for economic liberalism and drawn up a program inspired by Nayib Bukele, the president who managed to make El Salvador safe after multiplying the country's prison population.
23. "MBL faz evento em Salvador para anunciar partido em gestação; integrantes acreditam em vácuo na direita" [MBL holds event in Salvador to announce party in the making; members believe there is a vacuum on the right]. Bahia Notícias (in Portuguese). 13 May 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025. One of the points the group will focus on is public security, the Achilles heel of Bahia's government. One of the inspirations is the incarceration policy of El Salvador, under the command of Nayib Bukele. 'One of MBL's members was in El Salvador following the country's transformation under Bukele. We are committed to the safety of the population and if necessary we will get tough', [Mauro Cardim] said.
24. "Nossos Porta-vozes". mbl.org.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 July 2025.
25. "Kim Kataguiri". www.camara.leg.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 July 2025.
26. "Guto Zacarias". www.al.sp.gov.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 July 2025.
27. "Federações partidárias registradas no TSE". www.tse.jus.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 July 2025.
28. "Bancadas Atuais". www.camara.leg.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 July 2025.
29. "Senadores em Exercício". www25.senado.leg.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 July 2025.
30. "Resultado da Eleição". sig.tse.jus.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 July 2025.