ABSTRACT
The governability dilemma contributed a great deal to the transformation of the Brazilian Workers’ Party and shaped its behaviour in profound ways since the party occupied sub-national executive public office. This has been neglected in existing accounts on the transformation of the PT, even when the Lula administration is studied. Most scholars emphasise the way in which Lula altered his discourse as part of an electorally maximising strategy. In their works, they mainly pay attention to how Lula moderated his programme in his fourth attempt to become president, and professionalised his electoral strategy even further than in previous electoral contests. 1 In this chapter I argue that the changes that occurred during the electoral campaign took place because Lula and his inner circle were creating conditions to enable them eventually to govern, and so they were not only concerned with putting in place a successful electoral strategy.
