Political parties are still essential for the good functioning of democratic regimes. One key role performed by the parties is the connection between citizens and diferent areas of political power, performed, among others, by the process of candidate selection. But what are the effects of the candidate selection process to the political competition to the Brazilian Chamber? To answer this question, this paper has two aims: Identify the aspects that affect the candidate selection process and its consequences to the party system; Analyze the control of the leadership over the candidate list. In order to do that, we analyze the data related to the elections of 2006 and 2010 to the Chamber in the state of São Paulo. We show the existence of a coordination involving the number of candidates, their profile and their electoral strongholds. The paper points that Brazilian parties are not weak and disorganized as part of the literature implies and suggests that they are capable of building electoral strategies taking into consideration both structural needs and the political scenario.
Political Parties; Candidate Selection; Elections; Party Competition
