Folha Launches 2026 Party GPS to Map Brazil’s Political Positions Through Data

Folha de S.Paulo is launching its 2026 Party GPS, a data analysis designed to show where Brazil’s political parties sit from left to right based on what they do, not what they say they are.

The tool measures the proximity of 29 parties through five types of public information: voting in Congress, membership in parliamentary caucuses, electoral coalitions, party switching, and campaign donations. It draws on 1,097 votes, 320 caucuses, 11,200 party changes, 15,600 coalitions, and 1.1 million donors. The analysis covers 29 of Brazil’s 30 active parties.

The PCO is the only party excluded from the scale. It has not elected a deputy, has never shared a ticket with another party, and falls below the minimum thresholds for party switches and donors. Folha says there is not enough public behavior to measure it.

Brazil’s party system is among the world’s most fragmented, and mergers, incorporations, and shifting alliances can quickly change the political landscape. Official positions can also differ from how a party’s representatives vote or make other decisions. Each measure has its own bias: plenary votes also capture support for the government, while electoral tickets can reflect convenience. Combining the measures helps dilute those distortions, Folha says.

The data show sharp contrasts in some votes. All PL and Novo deputies supported an urgent vote on amnesty for people convicted over the January 8 attacks, while all PT and PSOL deputies opposed it. Parliamentary caucuses focused on abortion and gun owners attract disproportionate support from PL and Novo, while environmental and LGBTI+ groups draw parties such as PV and Rede.

The GPS is now in its third edition. Folha uses the methodology to assign colors to parties and group them in its election data analyses, measuring their proximity in each electoral cycle.