Brazil has a population of 191.9 million people, making it the largest country in South America. It has a diverse culture and Portuguese is the official language. Brazil transitioned to democracy in 1985 after over 20 years of military dictatorship. The country has a federal republic system of government with an elected president and bicameral legislature. Brazil has a developing economy and plays an influential role in South American affairs.

1. Brazil

2. 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

3. Culture
 Roman Catholic is the dominate religion
 Official language is Portuguese
 Muslim population is comprised of mostly
Arab immigrants

4. 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

5. History of Brazil
 1918- World War I
 1932- Women get the right to vote.
 1942- World War II
 1964-1985- A 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)

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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 property-
holders.
 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. Chamber of Deputies
 Lower House
 Has 513 seats.
 Proportional Representation
 Deputies serve four-year terms.

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

21. 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

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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.