Presidential elections in Brazil have been regularly a dispute between PT and PSDB. No third alternative has been able to threaten the control these parties have over the majority of the electorate. The way presidential elections are structured has an influence over the elections at state level, reproducing the same pattern. The parties' strategy, negotiating the launching and withdrawal of candidacies, is the key to understanding the dynamics of electoral disputes in Brazil.
2010 elections; political parties; party system; democracy
