The main purpose of this paper is to assess the changes in the forms of militancy and participation within the Partido dos Trabalhadores [Workers' Party]. In order to attain such objective, the paper analyzes more deeply the emergence and development of two major institutional innovations brought by the Party to the Brazilian party system: the Party Bases Nuclei [Núcleos de Base] and the Process of Direct Elections. Through the analysis of party documents, party data and surveys conducted among PT's delegates between 1997 and 2007, the paper shows that party activities, although more inclusive than they were at the time of the party's foundation and consolidation, are less intense today and have moved to the party structures linked to the electoral competition, as the municipal committees.
Workers' Party; Party organization; Brazil; Politics and government
