Abstract

KINZO, Maria D'Alva. Parties in the electorate: public perceptions and party attachments in Brazil.Translated byMaria D'Alva Kinzo. Rev. bras. ciênc. soc. [online]. 2006, vol.2Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0102-6909.

This article examines the impact of party politics on the Brazilian electorate. An important indicator of the consolidation of the party system is the emergence of image and party ties among voters.  As the party system tends to stabilize, we suppose that voters start fixing the profiles of parties and express party preference or loyalty. It meant that electoral volatility, high in the beginning, would tend to decrease along the time and that, the main parties at least, would create their identity, working as shortcuts for voters in their search for information about the political options in the electoral contests. The main concern of this analysis it to verify at what level such knowledge and party identity construction process have occurred in Brazil, taking as empirical basis a research carried out in the São Paulo city's  metropolitan area during the 2002 pre-election period.

Keywords : Parties and party systems in Brazil; electoral volatility; party identification; political cognition; party loyalty; electoral system.