The PSDB is sinking in the hands of Aécio and Dória.

Formerly known for its excessive moderation, sometimes mistaken for a lack of stance on central national issues, the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) decided to come down from the fence. It renounced the social democracy of its original ideology to embrace a reactionary and regressive conservatism. Driven by blatant opportunism, the PSDB, at the time led by Senator Aécio Neves, joined forces with the radicals of the MBL (Free Brazil Movement) and similar groups to encourage the impeachment of a legitimately elected president. They believed they were riding the conservative wave that was momentarily sweeping the country, and thus, without much effort, reaffirming their antagonistic position towards the PT (Workers' Party). They did not imagine, however, that the political process was somewhat more complex, not susceptible to shallow and crude manipulations. In the course of events, coherence is essential; otherwise, society perceives the artificial nature of the positions defended.

The birth of the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) is related to the attempt to rescue republican ethics in the exercise of power. A spin-off of the PMDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party), the authentic group that founded the party had, among other purposes, that of opposing the clientelism of Orestes Quércia and his allies. The PSDB was therefore structured around moral paradigms in an attempt to differentiate itself from other parties. Over the years, especially during Fernando Henrique Cardoso's presidency, an image was built of a contemporary party, bound by non-negotiable ethical commitments, even though this was not exactly the reality.

In the short and tumultuous time he was at the helm of the party, Aécio Neves managed to undo all of this. By omitting its central figures, starting with FHC (Fernando Henrique Cardoso), he initially caused the party to distance itself from its social-democratic platform, shamelessly joining forces with sectors of the right in an absolutely opportunistic strategy. Then, through his personal conduct, he pushed the PSDB to defend the schemes he is accused of, whether in the management of the Minas Gerais government; in dealings with his cronies at Furnas; or in the promiscuity of his relationship with Joesley Batista. In short, the PSDB, which was born under the sign of moralization, became a platform for defending the senator most cited in the Lava Jato corruption scandal.

Mostly belonging to the middle class, the PSDB voter values ​​ethical issues; they do not compromise on violations of the precepts of good conduct. For this reason, opinion polls cast the PSDB in an obscure position in the 2018 presidential succession. Their potential candidates – Governor Geraldo Alckmin and Mayor João Dória – are languishing at around seven percent of voting intentions. By moving to the right, the PSDB was swallowed up by Bolsonaro; after all, in this field, our own Brazilian Donald Trump moves with much more ease and authenticity.

Aécio's victory in the Senate, in an alliance between the PSDB and the opportunistic PMDB, is the most complete portrait of the PSDB's debacle. It shows, without embellishment, the ethical collapse of the party. It reveals, in the eyes of public opinion, the transformation of the party into yet another political group definitively tainted by corruption.

Beyond party lines, the senator from Minas Gerais is perhaps the most responsible for the national crisis. By not accepting the 2014 election results, Aécio launched a hate campaign against President Dilma and the PT (Workers' Party). He took action, through lawsuits and other questioning, to try to destabilize the elected government. He joined forces with Eduardo Cunha to plot the coup, with the support of illicit funds, as recently revealed by the money launderer Lúcio Funaro. Once again, the then-president of the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) led the party to positions incompatible with the original ideals of its creation. The PSDB members were transformed into shock troops for the coup, in a regrettable transmutation of their democratic DNA.

On this downward spiral, the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) finally has the collaboration of the irate mayor of São Paulo, João Doria. By opening the doors of its main stronghold to an outsider, without commitments to party principles, the PSDB won the elections but once again lost credibility and coherence in the eyes of the public. After betraying its creator – Governor Geraldo Alckmin – in just a few months, Doria began to spew hatred on social media against President Lula and even his own party colleagues who disagree with him. He makes speeches that bear no resemblance to the balanced stance that made the PSDB a kind of national representative of European social democracy. He manages the city like an advertising agency; he tries to sell the idea of ​​work by showing himself awake at 6 a.m., as if unemployed people couldn't also get up early. In short, he makes marketing a counterfeit of reality.

Subjected to the prominence of a senator accused of corruption and a fraudulent mayor, the PSDB has little to hope for. It will certainly be rejected at the polls, in a public condemnation of its inconsistencies and mistakes. Aécio and Dória, each in their own way, have disfigured the party, transforming it into a gathering of politicians without clear programmatic vision and tainted by corruption. Ironically, these would have been precisely the reasons that justified the dissent – ​​the embryo of the new party in 1988. With opposing motivations, the PSDB is born and begins to die for the same reasons: tolerance of corruption and lack of programmatic substance. The end is approaching.