The purpose of this study is to identify the main patterns of political competition in Brazilian municipalities. It intends to analyze two questions: first, considering the federative structure of the Brazilian state and the presence of a divided government, it tries to identify the forces that preside the intergovernmental relations between the federal, state and municipal levels; and second, to what extent the increase in electoral competition at the national level has stimulated the local disputes and undermined the traditional bases of politics in more than 5,500 Brazilian municipalities.
local politics; parties; federalism; elections
