The Social Democratic Party (, ''PSD'') was a Brazilian political party founded in 1987. It was an attempt to continue the 1945

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

, but never could attract its old members. The party was founded by César Cals, then Minister of Mines and Energy of president

João Figueiredo João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo (; 15 January 1918 – 24 December 1999) was a Brazilian military officer and dictator who served as the 30th president of Brazil from 1979 to 1985, the last of the Military dictatorship in Brazil, militar ...

, and existed until 2003, when it merged into the Brazilian Labour Party (PTB).

Electoral history

The "new" PSD contested its first election in 1988, electing 56 city councillors and only 2 mayors, in the municipalities of

Paulínia Paulínia is a Brazilian municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. It is located in the northwest of the São Paulo Macrometropolis and is about 119 km from the São Paulo, state capital. It occupies an ar ...

and Teodoro Sampaio, in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. After failing in the nomination of former president Figueiredo in the 1989 presidential election, they tried to launch the also former president

Jânio Quadros Jânio da Silva Quadros (; 25 January 1917 – 16 February 1992) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd president of Brazil from 31 January to 25 August 1961, when he resigned from office. He also served as the 24th a ...

(who joined the party in May), but withdrawn the candidacy. The alternative was to choose the then president of the Democratic Association of Ruralists,

Ronaldo Caiado Ronaldo Ramos Caiado (born 25 September 1949) is a Brazilian politician. An orthopedic physician trained at the School of Medicine and Surgery of Rio de Janeiro, he comes from a family landowners and politicians from Goiás. He is the grandson of ...

, aged 39 (turning 40 during campaign) and was a rookie as candidate. In an alliance with the inexpressive National Democratic Party (PDN), who nominated Camilo Calazans for Vice President, Caiado made many critics to his adversaries, specially

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...

of the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

(PT), whom he accused to receive money from construction company Lubeca in exchange of the approval of a project in the Prefecture of

. He also promised to jail the

Landless Workers' Movement The Landless Workers' Movement (, MST) is a social movement in Brazil aimed at land reform. Inspired by Marxism, it is the largest such movement in Latin America, with an estimated informal membership of 1.5 million across 23 of Brazil's 26 sta ...

members if elected, in response to the occupation in Europa farm, managed by the candidate's relatives. In the first round, Caiado garnered 488,872 votes, placing 10th and supported

Fernando Collor de Mello Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Collor ...

in the second round. In 1990, the party elected only one federal representative and two state representatives. Two years later, the party had 101 mayors, 6 member in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

and 20 member in Legislative Asseemblies, but in 1992 it reached the landmark of 20 federal representatives, what gave rise to accusations of grooming in exchange for money. The leaders in the scheme were Onaireves Moura (Paraná), Nobel Moura (Rondônia) and Itsuo Takayama (Mato Grosso), removed from office in 1993. In the 1994 presidential election, PSD allied with the

Brazilian Democratic Movement Party The Brazilian Democratic Movement (, MDB) is a Brazilian political party. It is considered a " big tent party" and it is one of the parties with the greatest representation throughout the national territory, with the most numbers of senators, ...

(PMDB) to support the candidacy of governor Orestes Quércia, who placed 4th. In state level, they won 3 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in state assemblies. The highlight went to the candidates for governor of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, where general Newton Cruz received 873,925 votes, placing 3rd. He also tried to run for mayor of Rio de Janeiro in 1996, but the party withdrew his candidacy to support

Sérgio Cabral Filho Sérgio de Oliveira Cabral Santos Filho (born January 27, 1963) is a Brazilian politician and journalist who served as the governor of Rio de Janeiro from 2007 to 2014. A member of MDB, he previously served as the president of the Legislativ ...

, then member of the

Brazilian Social Democracy Party The Brazilian Social Democracy Party (, PSDB), also known as the Brazilian Social Democratic Party or the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy,. is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Brazil. As the formerly third largest p ...

(PSDB). This position made Newton Cruz to leave the party support Luiz Paulo Conde of the Liberal Front Party. It couldn't elect any mayor in the municipal elections.

Last elections and merging

The party, led by Nabi Abi Chedid (who died in 2006) also disputed the 1998, 2000 and 2002 election, with modest results in the ballots. In 2003, it merged with the Brazilian Labour Party.

References

{{Brazilian political parties Defunct political parties in Brazil Political parties established in 1987 1987 establishments in Brazil 2003 disestablishments in Brazil