Study of political representation: representative capacity of party and electoral system in São Paulo

Abstract

The main aim of this project is to analyze the organization and functioning of representative politics in the state of São Paulo between 1994 and 2014. The project is focused on three dimensions: a) the organizational one, which aims to identify the structure of political parties, intra-party power distribution, sources of funding and political recruitment, as well as the characteristics of party elites and members; b) the competitive one, which aims to understand the pattern of competition within the state and also between intrastate regions, identifying the bases of political forces and their electoral strategies and organization, and c) the representative one, which seeks to analyze the voting patterns in the state during the period, as well as the kind of relationship developed between voters and the representative system in Sao Paulo. Analytically, the project aims to demonstrate the importance of organizational variables to explain the development of political parties in the state, and also the importance of contextual variables, both institutional and structural-socioeconomic, to understand voting behavior, recognizing the impact of different levels of social backgrounds on the political behavior of individuals and groups - without opposing the idea of rationality and the role of institutions. Regarding methodology, the project emphasizes empirical research and its objectives will be achieved through the analysis of individual level data obtained through surveys, organizational party data collected among party branches, and electoral, socioeconomic and demographic data organized by many state and federal agencies, such as IBGE, Fundação Seade, TRE and TSE.