The left usually wins elections in Brazil but eventually does not govern. In order to validate this claim, the paper, first, reviews the concept of left and right, defining the left political groups by their disposition to risk social order in the name of social justice. Second, the paper argues that in modern democracies there is no inconsistency between a left coalition and capitalism. Third, it says that in Brazil the experience shows that the left indeed wins elections but does not govern.
political parties; left; modern democracy; civil society
