Political Advertising and Party Image Construction in Brazil

Abstract

Traditionally, the political Party has been considered to be a fragile component for the voting explanation in Brazil. This way, the electoral choice presents marked personalism characteristics just like the electoral campaigns, as the most political Parties focus fundamentally in the candidate's image. On the other hand, the rules stablished by the brazilian legislation for the free political advertising on the television grant time for the Parties and not for the candidates. The rules of the game attribute to the Parties directors the power of deciding which candidates will have access to the television and in which conditions: the time distribution among the candidates, the privilege of special treatment to some of them, among others. This issue does not lead us only to the individual treatment towards the candidates but it also comprehends the Parties' possibility of stablishing general strategies to occupy an indirect area. We intend, in this article, to lay the basis for the investigation of the image construction of the large Parties involved in the electoral campaign of 2002. Key words: Electoral campaign; Image and party identification; public opinion; political parties and elections; political advertising