The social democrats will have a larger delegation in Congress (including Neves himself in the Senate) and will govern some of Brazil’s larger states, including São Paulo, home to 43 million people and one-third of the country’s GDP. But to reach the Planalto Presidential Palace after the 2018 election, the PSDB will have to convince poor Brazilians – those living in Bacha’s India – that it works on their behalf, and that the policies it advocates benefit them the most.