The article analyses the impact of social stratification and ideological identification on voting behavior in the Brazilian Presidential elections of 2002 and 2006, and, specifically, it identifies the values and attitudes associated with the vote for Lula. The analysis is based on the 2 waves of the ESEB (Brazilian Electoral Study) and it shows that in 2002, the social stratification was not a relevant factor in the explanation of presidential voting, especially the vote for Lula, associated with the self-ideological identification of citizens; in 2006, the situation is the opposite. However, in the 2 presidential campaigns, the vote for Lula is strongly explained by the voter’s identification with the candidate.
2006 Presidential election; social stratification; ideological identity; middle class
