Brazil
Demographics
slightly smaller than the US in land area.
Climate is mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Population: 191,900,000
– Most populous country in South America.
Median Age: 29 years
– Male: 28.3 years
– Female: 29.8 years
Population Growth Rate: .98%
Sex Ratio: 98 males for every 100 females.
Life expectancy:
– Male: 68.57 years.
– Female: 76.62 years.
Mostly Catholic (nominally)
Federal Republic
Number of People with AIDS 660,000
Culture
Roman Catholic is the dominate religion
Official language is Portuguese
Muslim population is comprised of mostly
Arab immigrants
History of Brazil
1500- Brazil claimed for Portugal by Pedro Alveras
Cabral.
1822- Brazil claimed independence from Portugal. Pedro
I ruled.
1831- Pedro I removed in favor of five-year-old son,
Pedro II.
1865-1870- South America’s War of the Triple Alliance
saw Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay aligned against
Paraguay. The Triple Alliance believed Paraguay was
undermining the region’s political stability. The war
ended in crushing defeat of Paraguay.
1888- Slavery Abolished
History of Brazil
1918- World War I
1932- Women get the right to vote.
1942- World War II
1964-1985A military dictatorship ruled over
Brazil. As many as 353 people died while under
custody. The dead of the leftist opposition were
either "disappeared" or registered as suicides or
fatalities from accidents or shootouts.
1985- Tancredo Neves elected (First elected
executive in 21 years)
Executive Branch
President: Both Head of State and Government.
Commander-in-Chief of armed forces.
Vice President with President. (Written out of
Constitution in 1934; Restored in 1946)
Four-year term with possible second term.
Directly elected.
Cabinet appointed by President
Current President: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Presidents
1889-1891: Deodoro da Fonseca
1891-1894: Floriano Peixoto
1894-1898: Prudente de Morais
1891-1902: Campos Sales
1902-1906: Rodrigues Alves
1906-1909: Afonso Pena
1909-1910: Nilo Peçanha
1910-1914: Hermes da Fonseca
1914-1918: Venceslau Bras
1918-1919: Delfim Moreira
1919-1922: Epitacio Pessoa
Presidents cont.
1922-1926: Artur Bernardes
1926-1930: Washington Luis
1930: military junta
1930-1945: Getulio Vergas
1945-1946: Jose Linhares
1946-1951: Gaspar Dutra
1951-1954: Getulio Vargas
1954-1955: Café Filho
1955: Carlos Luz
1955-1956: Nereu Ramos
1956-1961: Juscelino Kubitschek
1961: Janio Quadros
1961: Ranieri Mazzilli
1961-1964: Joao Goulart
Presidents cont.
1961: Ranieri Mazzilli
1961-1964: Joao Goulart
1964: Ranieri Mazzilli
1964-1967: Castelo Branco
1967-1969: Costa e Silva
1969: military junta
1969-1974: Emilio Medici
1974-1979: Ernesto Geisel
1979-1985: Joao Figueiredo
1985-1990: Jose Sarney
1990-1992: Fernando Collor
1992-1995: Itamar Franco
1995-2003: Fernando Henrique Cardoso
2003- : Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva
Constitutions
Constitution of 1824 – the first Brazilian constitution, enacted by Dom Pedro I. It was
monarchic, hereditary and highly centralized, permitting the vote only to propertyholders.
Constitution of 1891 – the republic was proclaimed in 1889, but a new constitution
was not promulgated until 1891. This federalist, democratic constitution was heavily
influenced by the U.S. model. However, women and illiterates were not permitted to
vote.
Constitution of 1934 – when Getúlio Vargas came to power in 1930, he canceled the
1891 constitution and did not permit a new one until 1934. The Constitutionalist
Revolution of 1932 forced Vargas to enact a new democratic constitution that
permitted women's suffrage. Getúlio Vargas was elected president by the
Constitutional Assembly to a four-year term, beginning in 1933.
Constitution of 1937 – Getúlio Vargas suppressed a Communist uprising in 1935 and
used it as a pretext to establish autocratic rule. He instituted a corporatist
constitution nicknamed the polish, written by .
Constitution of 1946 – after a military coup ousted dictatorial Getúlio Vargas, an
Assembly wrote a democratic constitution.
Constitution of 1967 – after the 1964 coup d'État against João Goulart, the military
dictatorship passed the Institutional Acts, a supraconstitutional law. This strongly
undemocratic constitution simply incorporated these Acts.
Constitution of 1988 – the progressive redemocratization culminated in the current
constitution. Very democratic, it is more expansive than a normal constitution – many
statutory acts in other countries are written into this constitution, like Social Security
and taxes.
Military Dictatorship
In 1964 a military-led coup d'état deposed the
democratically-elected president of Brazil, João Goulart.
Brazil was governed by the military, with a two-party
system, with a pro-government National Renewal
Alliance Party (ARENA) and an opposition Brazilian
Democratic Movement (MDB).
Thousands of politicians had the political rights
suspended, and military-sanctioned indirect elections
were held for most elected positions until political
liberalization during the government of João Figueiredo.
New Republic
In 1985, the military were defeated in an election
according to the scheme they had set up -- as a
consequence of the loss of political support among the
elites. Tancredo Neves elected, but he died before he
could take office. His vice-president, Jose Sarney, took
over.
Sarney's government was disastrous in almost every
field. The ongoing economic recession and the soaring
external debt drained the country's assets while ravaging
inflation (which later turned into hyperinflation)
demonetized the currency and prevented any stability.
Sarney attempted to fix the problems, but he failed in
the end.
Collor government (1990-1992)
His inflation control plan was based on an attempt to
control prices and a complicated currency conversion
process that prevented people from cashing their bank
accounts for 18 months.
All of this made him quite unpopular and denied him
support in the parliament that he needed since his own
party held few seats. At the beginning of his third year in
office, he resigned as a result of in a huge corruption
scandal. The charges against him would later be
dropped, some on mere technicalities, some for actually
being irrelevant or false.
Legislative
The National Congress of Brazil is a
bicameral legislature.
– The upper-house is the Federal Senate.
– The lower-house is the House of Deputies.
Federal Senate
Upper House
81 Seats
3 members elected from each
state/federal district by a majority.
– 26 states and 1 federal district.
– One third and two-thirds elected alternately
every four years, meaning eight-year terms.
Chamber of Deputies
Lower House
Has 513 seats.
Proportional Representation
Deputies serve four-year terms.
Judicial System
The legal system is based on continental
European principles
Jury system has been used in criminal cases for
more than 100 years but now they tend to stray
away from juries
The Supreme Federal Court is composed of 11
justices, chosen by the president with Senate
approval, who can serve until age 70
Judges are appointed for life and may not
accept other employment.
Has final jurisdiction
Judicial System
The Federal Appeals Court deals with cases
involving the federal government.
There is also a system of specialized courts
dealing with police, juveniles, and family
matters.
The judiciary is independent from the executive
and legislative branches.
Criminal defendants have a right to counsel.
Brazilian legal system is the coexistence of
decentralized and centralized models
Politcal Parties
Worker’s Party: Left-wing party
– De Silva’s party
Brazilian Social Democracy Party: center-left
– Calls “left/right” labels outdated.
Brazilian Democratic Movement party: no fixed
ideology; mostly center/ liberal.
Democrats: center-right
Political Culture
Citizens of the north vote more often for the
Workers’ Party; the South votes more for the
Social Democracy Party.
Compulsary voting: Voters age 18-70 are
required to vote.
Many favor a military rule over democracy.
High migration into urban areas.
Amount of registered voters increasing since
mid-1900’s
Styles of Politics
1st: Coronelismo : local “colonels”, in an alliance
with farmers, control the votes of rural workers.
2nd: Clientellistic politics. Politicians receive
migrants to improve their lives in exchange for
votes.
3rd: Direct populist appeal by politicians
Voters most influenced by second and third
styles, along with peer groups, opinion leaders,
and soap operas.
Bureaucracy
Ministries include: Ministry of Finance,
Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Culture,
Ministry of Education, etc.
The bureaucracy is massive; Considered to
be bloated, overreaching, etc.
Many unnecessary officials in the system.
Bureaucracy in need of reform.
Foreign Policy
Brazil has an active role in the politics of
South America.
Characterized by an aggressive foreign
policy approach.
Relations with U.S. strong historically;
have been weaker lately due to economic
downturn.
Foreign Policy
Well established International Economic
Relations
Part of the WTO and UN
Open Economy (10th largest in the World)
Social and Economic problems prevent
them from becoming a major world power
Brazilian Law
Based on Roman Germanic Traditions
It consists of mostly codified statutes
Civil law concepts prevail over common
law practices
Court Decisions set out interpretative
guidelines but not binding except in
specific cases
Armed Forces
The Armed forces of Brazil comprise the
Brazilian Army, the Brazilian Navy, and the
Brazilian Air Force
The Military Police (States' Military Police)
is described as an ancillary force of the
Army by constitution, but under the
control of each state's governor
The Brazilian armed forces are the largest
in Latin America.
