Last modified: 2008-08-02 by ian macdonald
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image by Carlos Noronha and Jorge Candeias
According to Carlos Noronha, the flag of the party is red with a white
5-pointed star centered and the red initials PT superimposed on the star.
Jorge Candeias, 9 May 1999
In the web site of the party is a little on-line shop with flags available.
The sizes are 0.70 m x 1.0 m and 1.4 m x 2.0 m [i.e., the ratio is 7:10]. But many flags are home made, so wide variation
is possible.
Marcelo Rodrigo Pereira, 15 October 2001
The PT party statute, unlike those of many other Brazilian parties,
does not define the design of the flag, only the star and letters logo.
Joseph McMillan, 5 November 2002
image by Jorge Candeias, 22 April 2005
I came across one final relevant item at
http://www.lula.org.br/avida/familia.asp. The page, in Portuguese, is a
biography of Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva, the wife of the Brazilian president.
The first photo on that page shows a flag, and the caption reads as follows (my
translation):
"The first flag of the PT, made by Marisa, was kept by Mr.
Antônio Eustáquio da Silva, who militated with her in the Jardim Lavínia
nucleous."
In the text there's the following sentence:
"[...] It was
also Marisa who cut and sew the first flag of the PT - made in her home, of
course - when the party was founded in February 1980."
The flag is red
with a big white star, centered, and the name of the party along the hoist in
capital letters.
Jorge Candeias, 22 April 2005
At the BBC website you can
find several flags of supporters of the left-wing presidential candidate (and probable
future president [subsequently elected-ed.]) of Brazil, Mr. Luíz Inácio "Lula" da Silva. However,
the image of Lula's Worker's Party [top of page] is completely different. Any comment?
Jan Zrzavy, 8 October 2002
A white flag with three colored stripes, a big star with a number 13 inside it but off-centered
(and I don't remember in what color), in versions with and without additional writings, was profusely
used during Lula's campaign as an advertising flag for his ticket. Brazil uses a system of electronic
balloting, where each party is attributed a number and then voters punch the number of
their preferred candidate into a special machine. The PT's number is 13. [The photo on which this image is
based does not show the number on the star.--Ed.]
Jorge Candeias, 3 November 2002
I have found another variant of the PT flag. The cover of the daily free newspaper 20 Minutes, number 155
(29 October 2002) is dedicated to the results of the Brazilian presidential election. A color picture from
Agence France Press shows a young PT supporter waving a flag bigger than himself. The flag is the "classical" PT
flag (red with the white star and PT in white inside the star), but with three thin horizontal green-yellow-blue
stripes added. I believe that the addition of the Brazilian colors to the traditional PT flag might be
related to Lula's new image, less leftist and more "Brazilian" than in the past. From the AFP picture,
it seems that the star is larger than on the classicial flag and skewed to the top of
theflag.
Ivan Sache, 2 November 2002
I believe the stripes in the flag Ivan described might indicate that it was
a flag produced especially for this election, given the similarities with Lula's supporter flags.
So, Ivan's interpretation of them is probably correct but incomplete, in the sense that it might not be
a new image for the party, but a transient one.
Jorge Candeias, 3 November 2002
image by Carlos Noronha and Jorge Candeias
image by Carlos Noronha and Jorge Candeias
Some variations of the basic PT pattern are in use. A photo found by Dov
Gutterman some months ago shows three of them: the same but with a yellow
star and black initials, and another like it but with the star and the field in inverted colors
(that is, yellow field and red star).
Jorge Candeias, 9 May 1999
The red flag with black PT on yellow star can be seen in the photo at
www.pt-rs.org.br. Another photo
with a variant (yellow flag on black PT on red star) can be seen at
www.terravista.pt/PortoSanto/2771/comicio.jpg.
Dov Gutterman, 7 March 1999
The red flags with yellow stars and black letters are from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and the yellow-red-black also.
I don't know why.
Marcelo Rodrigo Pereira, 15 October 2001
A green-red-yellow vertical tricolor with the PT star in the center, reported by Marcelo Rodrigo
Pereira. Another one I would guess as being distinct to Rio Grande do Sul because of its similarity to the
state flag.
Joseph McMillan, 22 October 2002
There also exists a lilac flag with white star and lilac letters, having to do with
women secretaries. This flag is also sold in the party's on-line shop.
Marcelo Rodrigo Pereira, 15 October 2001
I have some more variations on the standard PT flag from photographs of rallies in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. They were called to
my attention by Marcelo Rodrigo Pereira last year. They are from the
Porto Alegre PT party website (caution!--huge files and extremely long download time).
Joseph McMillan, 10 November 2002
image by Carlos Noronha, Jorge Candeias, and Joseph McMillan
image by Carlos Noronha, Jorge Candeias, and Joseph McMillan
image by Carlos Noronha, Jorge Candeias, and Joseph McMillan
A strange version from the photograph at
www.terravista.pt/PortoSanto/2771/comicio.jpg: red with red initials over a white irregular shape.
Jorge Candeias, 9 May 1999
That is a star also. I think this flag is home-made or only for that election.
Marcelo Rodrigo Pereira, 15 October 2001
Editor's Note: Luíz Inácio "Lula" da Silva was elected President of Brazil in October 2002 with more than 60% of the vote in the runoff presidential election. The PT also became the largest party in Congress with 91 deputies elected.
image by Jorge Candeias, 23 April 2005
image by Jorge Candeias, 23 April 2005
There are also at least three different designs of flags specific to the
Olívio Dutra's campaign in Rio Grande do Sul:
- A red flag with OLÍVIO in
white, except for the V, which is replaced by a yellow checkmark, and a yellow
"PT" star below this V, charged with the number 13, in red, all tilted to occupy
as much of the flag as possible without leaving empty areas. Although I don't
know the specifics of the Brazilian electoral system, the number 13 is, I
believe, Olívio's electoral number.
- A flag with identical design but
altered colours: yellow with black letters, red checkmark and star and yellow
number.
- Another yellow flag that is only partially visible but seems to
have the same colour combination as above but no star and a small number 40, in
red, below OLÍVIO, which is here horizontal (see
this image). I have no idea about what
the 40 stands for.