The first major antagonism between PSDB and PT

Abstract

The objective of this article is to demonstrate the antagonistic construction between the discourses produced by the PSDB and PT candidacies during the HGPE television broadcast of the 1994 presidential election, which resulted in the Real Plan being posited as the nodal point of this conflict. We realize that the dimension of antagonism identified in this conflict zone allows voters greater access to information on the candidatures in dispute over the Presidency of the Republic, given its deconstructive character. Therefore, there are two main reasons that justify this study’s focus on the past: a) this moment can be read as the first great antagonism between the PSDB and PT parties, and b) little or no attention has been paid to studies involving the antagonistic dimension of the HGPE, which may illuminate yet another aspect of the voter's vote choice. This work uses the theoretical and methodological aspects of Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory to emphasize the concepts of discourse and antagonism essential to capturing the discursive meanings demonstrated here. We conclude, therefore, that the 1994 election marked the first major antagonism between PSDB and PT.

HGPE; antagonism; discourse theory; PSDB; PT