The main objective of this article is to examine the recent debates about the factors that explain democratic stability in Brazil. Based upon the concept of political socialization it analyses the impact of elections on the strengthening of democracy and the importance of norms and values for the future of democracy. We think that presidential elections in the Brazilian case could be characterized as an important moment in the political socialization process. To test this proposition we use the data from the Brazilian Electoral Study (ESEB) conducted in 2002, 2006 and 2010. It is analyzed if age generates differences in the values and attitudes manifested by people, with more democratic experience leading, to the materialization of a political culture congruent with democracy, or if they are defined by the electoral context, analyzing the dimensions dividing population by cohorts by age, and by electoral choice in each turnout. We conclude that political culture has changed to support more democratic values, but the contradictions remaining indicates a hybrid culture that does not favor a poliarchic representative democracy.
Democracy; political socialization; political culture; CSES-ESEB 2010
