The rise of the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT) is unique. Founded in 1980, it rapidly became the world's largest left-wing party, winning 31 million votes in 1989. In 1994 the PT seemed on the brink of winning power, headed by its charismatic presidential candidates Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, universally known as Lula. Only a strong last-minute campaign by former Finance Minister Fernando Henrique Cardosa, deprived it of victory. But the PT's significance goes far beyond electoral success. It is a new kind of party, a rainbow coalition of trade unions, peasant organisations and slum dwellers which has brought Brazilian politics to life at grassroots.
Brazil: Carnival of the Oppressed is the essential introduction to the PT phenomenon. It traces the growth of party and its search for a new way of making politics. It explores the nature of the 'social apartheid' which has made Brazil one of the most unequal nations on earth. Brazil: Carnival of the Oppressed features an exclusive in-depth interview with Lula, reflecting on the election campaign and the PT's future.