Analyzing official party documents (rules and constitutions), the paper compares the internal decision-making structures of the four major parties in contemporary Brazil: PMDB, PSDB, PFL/DEM and PT. Covering the period 1995-2011, two analytical dimensions have been set in motion: a) the inclusiveness of the party' decision-making organization, which concerns to the possible grassroots influence in the decisions made by party elites; b) the degree of centralization, as regards the articulation, hierarchy and control among party branches in local, state and federal levels. The findings suggest that party elites are not inert: they have been acting incisively to change and adapt party organizations, mainly due to exogenous pressures.
political parties; Brazilian politics; party organization; party constitutions
