by PublicABCP
Translated and reviewed by Matheus Lucas Hebling
Published by Editora Dialética in 2024, the book Social Democracy on the Periphery: The Proposal in the Foundational Documents of the PSDB stems from the master’s research of Jeferson Alexandre Miranda, a doctoral candidate in Political Science at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar). The work examines how the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) incorporated and reinterpreted elements of the social-democratic tradition during its early years, from 1988 to 1994, a period closely tied to Brazil’s redemocratization.
The study focuses on the party’s initial records in order to understand the theoretical and political adaptations involved in the reception of social democracy in a peripheral context such as Brazil.
The book is guided by a central question: given that the PSDB identified itself as social-democratic from its foundation, was it in fact a party aligned with that ideological tradition? From this starting point, the author seeks to understand how social democracy—particularly in formulations associated with the Third Way—was interpreted and adjusted in the documents that shaped the party at a moment of democratic transition in Brazil. The study offers a critical analysis of the PSDB’s early partisan identity, contrasting the public image constructed in its initial years with the political trajectory the party would later follow at the national level.
To investigate the coherence between the PSDB’s foundational discourse and its subsequent political action, the author adopts an analytical approach centered on the documents produced between 1988 and 1994. Reading these texts makes it possible to identify the theoretical references mobilized in the formulation of the party’s project, as well as the elements that suggest potential ambivalence regarding the social-democratic tradition.
The method employed seeks to highlight the extent to which the party already carried, from its inception, features that could signal future shifts in the political field, including moves toward positions associated with neoliberalism.
By reconstructing the historical trajectory of social democracy, the author identifies key moments of inflection and internal debate within this political tradition, emphasizing how it has taken different forms across national contexts.
In Brazil’s case, the analysis centers on the ways in which the PSDB appropriated this ideological repertoire during its founding period, establishing a discursive connection to the Third Way while incorporating elements that did not fully align with classic European social democracy. The investigation shows that even in the party’s earliest texts, signs of conceptual and political ambivalence were already present.
One of the study’s main findings is the presence of national developmentalism as a structuring—though not always explicit—component of the party’s initial proposal. This presence adds a further layer of complexity to the PSDB’s ideological construction. The analysis reveals that the reception of social democracy in Brazil involved adjustments reflecting the country’s historical and institutional conditions, resulting in a proposal marked by internal tensions. These insights contribute to understanding how ideas originating abroad are reinterpreted and transformed when transplanted into peripheral political settings.
The study offers a valuable contribution to debates on political parties and the circulation of ideas in Brazil. By focusing on the PSDB’s founding documents, the author presents an analytical method that can be applied to other party experiences, helping to illuminate how political projects are built through symbolic disputes and ideological accommodations.
The analysis of the PSDB’s formative trajectory also highlights the limits and possibilities involved in adapting international ideological models to specific national contexts—an issue that remains relevant given the continued reconfiguration of Brazil’s political landscape.
Author Profile
Jeferson Alexandre Miranda is a doctoral student in the Graduate Program in Political Science at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar). He holds postgraduate degrees in History, Culture, and Power, as well as in the Teaching of History and Geography. He teaches in primary and secondary education, working as a Humanities and Social Sciences teacher (History and Geography).
Technical Information
Title: Social Democracy on the Periphery: The Proposal in the Foundational Documents of the PSDB
Author: Jeferson Alexandre Miranda
Publisher: Editora Dialética
Year of Publication: 2024
ISBN: 9786527056720
Available at: Editora Dialética
