Social Movements and Political Parties in Brazil: Expanding Democracy, the Struggle for the Possible' and the Reproduction of Power Structures

During the past 15 years, the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT) has changed from a party with a mission of radical social transformation through democratic representation to a party which accepts and has integrated itself into the dominant political and economic regimes of the day. Concurrently, many social movements have come to depend on PT governments to express and successfully achieve their existential and program claims while others have abandoned their goals of social transformation for specific social programs which they call the struggle for the possible. The result is that social movements, in their relationship to the ruling national party, contribute to reproducing the structure of power, but concurrently open a political space for the excluded populations they represent. This article analyzes the relationship between social movements and political parties through a comparative study of three Brazilian social movements (Sao Paulo housing movement, the women's movement, and the MST) and their relationship with the Workers' Party since it gained power at the national level in 2003. It describes how these social movements participate in party politics, how their political strategy relates to overall movement goals and mission, how they interact with political parties during elections, and if their political participation advances their claims.