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What were the consequences of the defeat of the Workers' Party (PT) in Porto Alegre (Brazil) in the municipal elections of October 2004? This is an essential issue not only in Brazilian political life, but also in politics in general: what are the effects of coming to power on the national level on the local implantation of a political formation? In what ways are the national and local levels not connected together? This leads us to another question that has received little attention in political science: what is the effect of electoral failure on party activists and organisation? This text also demonstrates the importance of the local level in party organisation and in the perception of issues of power among its activists. Through a dynamic approach combining qualitative and quantitative data, the impacts of failure are measured on the level of the party organisation and the individuals who form it, on four dimensions: symbolic and psychological, activism and finances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]