El Partido del Trabajo (PT) - Explainer

The Partido del Trabajo (Labor Party), often referred to as PT, is a left-wing party founded in 1990 to promote anti-capitalist ideas at a time when the “Washington Consensus” liberal reforms dominated Mexico’s economic and social agenda. One of Mexico’s smaller political parties, the PT, has historically struggled to reach the 3% percent threshold of national votes needed to keep a political party’s registration. Therefore, the PT has strategically allied with other political parties, most recently the PRD and Morena, to sustain support and relevance in Mexico’s political system. While, at times, the PT has nominated candidates, most of the party’s successes have come through alliances with larger parties. In both the 2018 and 2021 election cycles, PT joined Morena’s Juntos Haremos Historia (Together We Will Make History) coalition and won the governorships in Puebla, Morelos, and Baja California. PT will again join the coalition for the 2024 election cycle.

Image Credit

Gustavo Benítez

Currently, the PT holds nearly 5% of the seats in the Senate (3 senators in total), and almost 9% of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies (44 positions in total).