politics of brazil

Brazil is a federal republic with 26 states and a federal district (see: States of Brazil).

Government

The 1988 constitution grants broad powers to the federal government, made up of executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president holds office for four years, with the right to re-election for an additional four-year term, and appoints his own cabinet. There are 81 senators, three for each state and the Federal District, and 513 deputies. Senate terms are for eight years, with election staggered so that two-thirds of the upper house is up for election at one time and one-third four years later. Chamber of Deputies terms are for four years, with elections based on a complex system of proportional representation by states. The seats are alloted proportionally to each state's population, but each state is eligible for a minimum of eight seats and a maximum of 70 seats. The result is a system weighted in favor of smaller states. Fifteen political parties are represented in Congress. Since it is common for politicians to switch parties, the proportion of congressional seats held by particular parties changes regularly.

Brazilian political parties

see List of political parties in Brazil

States and municipalities

States are organized like the federal government, with three government branches. Because of the mandatory revenue allocation to states and municipalities provided for in the 1988 constitution, Brazilian governors and mayors have exercised considerable power since 1989.

Principal government officials

President: Luiz Incio Lula da Silva
Vice-President: Jos Alencar Gomes da Silva

Country name

conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil
local long form: Repblica Federativa do Brasil
local short form: Brasil

Government type

Federative republic

National holiday

Independence Day, 7 September (1822)

Constitution

Now: 5 October 1988 Brazil has had seven constitutions:

March 25, 1824 - the first Brazilian constitution, enacted by Dom Pedro I. It was monarichic hereditary and power-centralizated, and the vote was censitary (just rich people was able to vote).
February 24, 1891 - the republic was proclaimed in 1889, but just in 1891 a constitution was promulgated, with lots of influences of United States model. It was federalist and not undemocratic. Women and analphabets wasn't able to vote.
July 16, 1934 - when Getlio Vargas came to power in 1930, he canceled the 1891 constitution, but a new one was not written until 1934. The Constitutionalist Revolution exploded in order to force Getlio pass a new constitution. It was democratic, allowed women vote, but Getlio Vargas was elected president by the Constitutional Assembly term and he broke a coup d'ett three years later.
November 10, 1937 - Getlio Vargas broke a coup and outorgated a facist Constitution and it was nicked the polish. It was written by Francisco Campos.
September 18, 1946 - after a coup against Getlio Vargas, an Assembly wrote a democratic constitution. Women could vote.
March 15, 1967 - after the 1964 coup d'ett against Joo Goulart, the military dictactorship passed the Institutional Acts, a supraconstitutional law. This constitution had just incorporated these Acts and it was very antidemocratic.
October 5, 1988 - the progressive redemocratization culminated in this Constitutition. Very democratic, it is larger than a normal constitution, because it is not just a bill of rights. Lots of things that is infraconstitutional in other countries is written in this constitution, like Social Security and Taxes.

Legal system

Based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

Suffrage

Suffrage is voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age (except for a few categories, such as illiterate and disabled people, for whom it is voluntary). President, State governors and mayors of state capitals and large cities are elected in two rounds (runoff voting): If no candidate obtains a majority, the first 2 candidates of the first turn go for a second one. Senators and mayors of smaller cities are elected in a single round (winner takes all). Deputies and city council members are elected by proportional elections with open party lists: the party candidates with the most individual votes take office.

Executive branch

Head of State: Luiz Incio Lula da Silva (since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jos Alencar Gomes da Silva (since 1 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: Luiz Incio Lula da Silva (since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jos Alencar Gomes da Silva (since 1 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president

Elections

President and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held October 2002(next to be held October 2006)

Election results

Luiz Incio Lula da Silva elected president; percent of vote - 61,2%

Legislative branch

Bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81 seats; three members from each state or federal district elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third elected after a four year period, two-thirds elected after the next four-year period) and the Chamber of Deputies or Cmara dos Deputados (513 seats; deputies are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)

Elections

(Please get new data!) Federal Senate - last held October 2002 for two-thirds of the Senate (next to be held October 2006 for one-third of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies - last held October 2002 (next to be held October 2006)

Election results

Federal Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PMDB 27, PFL 20, PSDB 16, PT 7, PPB 5, PSB 3, PDT 2, PPS 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PFL 106, PSDB 99, PMDB 82, PPB 60, PT 58, PTB 31, PDT 25, PSB 19, PL 12, PCdoB 7, other 14

Judicial branch

Brazilian jurisdiction courts function under civil law and adversarial system. As occurs in the United States, the Judicial Branch are organized in states' and federal systems with different jurisdictions. The judges of the courts of first instance take office after public competitive examinations. The second instance judges are promoted among the first instance judges. The Justices of the superior courts are appointed by President for life and approved by Senate. All the judges and justices must be graduated in law. Any Brazilian judge is compulsory retired at the age of 70 years old. States' judicial branch The state territory is divided into judicial districts named comarcas, which are composed by one or more cities, like American counties. Each comarca has at least one court of first instance. There are specialized courts of first instance for family litigation or bankruptcy in some cities and states. Judgments from theses district courts can be subject of judicial review by the courts of second instance. Judgments of courts of first instance are usually made by only one judge. Brazilian judiciary system uses jury trials only for intentional crimes against the human life – like murder. In the most part of the Brazilian states, there is only one court of second instance, named Justice Tribunal (Tribunal de Justia in Portuguese). Some states, as So Paulo and Minas Gerais, have Courts of Appeals (Tribunal de Alada in Portuguese) too, but with different jurisdiction. The highest court of a state is always the Justice Tribunal. The second instance judgments are usually made by three judges, who, in the Justice Tribunals, are named desembargadores. Federal judicial branch The national territory is divided into six Regions, which are composed by one or more states. Each region is divided in Judiciary Sections (Sees Judicirias in Portuguese) with a territory that may not correspond to the states comarcas. The Judiciary Sections has federal courts of first instance and each Region has a Federal Regional Tribunal (Tribunal Regional Federal in Portuguese) as a court of second instance. There is a special federal court system for labor litigations called Labor Justice (Justia do Trabalho in Portuguese) with its own courts. Superior Courts There are two national superior courts that grant writs of certiorari in civil and criminal cases: the Superior Justice Tribunal (Superior Tribunal de Justia in Portuguese), also know as STJ, and the Brazilian superior court called Supreme Federal Tribunal (Supremo Tribunal Federal in Portuguese), also know as STF. STJ grants a Special Appeal (Recurso Especial in Portuguese) when a judgment of a court of second instance offends a federal statute disposition or when the second instance courts in two or more have decided in different ways about a same federal statute. There are courts similar to the STJ for labor law, electoral law and military law. STF grants an Extraordinary Appeal (Recurso Extraordinrio in Portuguese) when a judgment of a court of second instance offends a constitutional disposition. STF is the last instance for the writ of habeas corpus, including review of a judgment from the STJ. The superior courts do not analyze any factual questions in their judgments, but only the application of law and constitution. Facts and evidences must be judged in last instance by the courts of second instance, except in very special cases like the writ of habeas corpus.

Political parties and leaders

Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB TEMER, president; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB Carlos MARTINEZ, president; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB ANIBAL Peres de Pontes, president; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB ARRAES, president; Brazilian Progressive Party or PPB MALUF, president; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB RABELO, president; Democratic Labor Party or PDT LUPI, president; (Leonel BRIZOLA, in memoriam); Liberal Front Party or PFL BORNHAUSEN, president; Liberal Party or PL COSTA Neto, president; Popular Socialist Party or PPS FREIRE, president; Worker's Party or PT GENONO, president

Political pressure groups and leaders

Left wing of the Catholic Church, Landless Worker's Movement, and labor unions pressure the government for more intense reforms on taxation and land property, while rightist PFL and PSDB are critical of government's social and economic policies.

International organization participation

African Development Bank, Bank for International Settlements, Customs Cooperation Council, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Food and Agriculture Organization, Group of 11, Group of 15, Group of 19, Group of 24, Group of 77, Inter-American Development Bank, International Atomic Energy Agency, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), International Civil Aviation Organization, International Chamber of Commerce, International Criminal Court, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, International Development Association, International Fund for Agricultural Development. International Finance Corporation, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Hydrographic Organization, International Labor Organization, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organization, Inmarsat, International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, Interpol, International Olympic Committee, International Organization for Migration (observer), International Organization for Standardization, International Telecommunication Union, Latin American Economic System, Asociacin Latinoamericana de Integracin, Mercosur, Nonaligned Movement (observer), Nuclear Suppliers Group, Organization of American States, Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Permanent Court of Arbitration, Rio Group, United Nations, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka, United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor, United Nations University, Universal Postal Union, World Confederation of Labour, World Federation of Trade Unions, World Health Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, World Meteorological Organization, World Tourism Organization World Trade Organization

Flag description

Green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one for each state and the Federal District) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil on the 15th November 1889 (date of the proclamation of the Republic); the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress). See also: Flag of Brazil