摘要：

This paper analyzes the organizational structure of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB), from its foundation in 1988 to 1999. From this perspective, the discussion is divided in two parts. In the first one, the following dimensions of the PSDB are approached: its origin, internal structure of power, ideology and opinions and attitudes of the elected representatives. In the second part, this work discusses the interaction between the model of organization adopted by the party and its consequences for the definition of its strategies of electoral competition and party’s participation in government. The results of this research indicate that the PSDB has gone through a process of adaptation in response to the political environment in order to increase its electoral competitiveness. This process of pragmatic adaptation is revealed as an important explanatory variable of the type of power's relationship between leaders and partisans, and of the ambiguity between the government's program and its professed ideology. The empirical evidences that attest such explanation corroborate the theoretical perspective adopted in this article. The party chooses from a set of possible alternatives the one that will promote articulation between its organizational stability and the capacity to gain political power.

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