Socialist Democracy ( pt, Democracia Socialista, DS) is a far-left

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...

group in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Formed in 1979, DS was affiliated to the

United Secretariat of the Fourth International The Fourth International (FI), founded in 1938, is a Trotskyist international. In 1963, following a ten-year schism, the majorities of the two public factions of the Fourth International, the International Secretariat and the International Com ...

. DS was one of the first groups to affiliate with the Workers' Party (PT) when the PT formed in 1980. The activists in Socialist Democracy hoped to transform the PT into a revolutionary socialist party. As the PT grew, DS grew to become one of the largest Trotskyist organizations in the world. DS has been most prominent in the municipal government of

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

, where DS member Raul Pont was vice-mayor from 1992 to 1996 and mayor from 1996 to 2000, and the state government of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a state in the southern region of Brazil. It is the fifth-most-populous state and the ninth largest by area. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Rio Grande do Sul is border ...

. DS members played a significant role in the elaboration of the Participatory Budget (though they had initially opposed its introduction) and also in the arrangements for the three

World Social Forum The World Social Forum (WSF, pt, Fórum Social Mundial ) is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, first held in Brazil, which offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemoni ...

s held in Porto Alegre. In recent years, the PT has become more moderate, especially after party leader

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party ...

became

President of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

in 2003. This caused tension in the entire

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

of the PT, including in Socialist Democracy. In 2004, Heloísa Helena (a member of DS and a Brazilian Senator) and other dissident PT members were expelled from the party, and they formed the

Socialism and Liberty Party The Socialism and Liberty Party ( pt-BR, Partido Socialismo e Liberdade , PSOL ) is a left-wing political party in Brazil. The party describes itself as socialist and democratic. The party leader is Juliano Medeiros and the federal deputie ...

(P-SOL). Part of the DS tendency remained in the PT, but another part left to join the P-SOL. Those who entered PSOL formed a tendency called Enlace. The DS majority remaining in the PT has come to be the core of attempts to unseat the PT's current leadership, with DS member Raul Pont narrowly losing with 48% of the votes in a 2005 election for the presidency of the PT.

References

External links

Official website
1979 establishments in Brazil Factions and associate parties of the Socialism and Liberty Party Far-left politics in Brazil Fourth International (post-reunification) Left-wing politics in Brazil Political parties established in 1979 Trotskyist organisations in Brazil Workers' Party (Brazil) {{Brazil-party-stub