Politics of Brazil

Brazil is a federal republic with 26 states and a federal district.

Government

The 1988 constitution grants broad powers to the federal government, made up of executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president holds office for 4 years, with the right to re-election for an additional 4-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 8 years, with election staggered so that two-thirds of the upper house is up for election at one time and one-third 4 years later. Chamber terms are for 4 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 8 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. The following are the major political parties:

• PFL – Party of the Liberal Front (center-right)
• PMDB – Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (center)
• PSDB – Party of the Brazilian Social Democracy (center)
• PP – Progressist Party (center-right)
• PT – Workers' Party (center-left)
• PDT – Democratic Labour Party (center-left)
• PTB – Brazilian Labor Party(center-right)
• PSB – Brazilian Socialist Party (left)
• PSTU – United Socialist Workers' Party (extreme-left)
• PCdoB – Communist Party of Brazil (left)
• PL – Liberal Party (center-right)

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 Inacio Lula da Silva
• Vice-President: José Alencar Gomes da Silva

Country name

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

Government type

Federative republic

Capital

Brasília

Administrative divisions

26 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapá, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceará, Distrito Federal*, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraíba, Paraná, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins

Independence

7 September 1822 (from Portugal)

National holiday

Independence Day, 7 September (1822)

Constitution

5 October 1988

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. President, State governors and Mayors are elected in 2 turns. First 2 candidates of the first turn go for second. Senate is elected in 1 turn, winner takes all. Deputies are elected by proportional elections, but with no list.

Executive branch

Head of State: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva(since 1 January 2003); Vice President José 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 Inacio Lula da Silva(since 1 January 2003); Vice President José 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 2003(next to be held October 2007)

Election results

Luiz Inácio 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 Cámara 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 one-third of Senate (next to be held NA October 2002 for two-thirds of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies - last held 4 October 1998 (next to be held October 2007)

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

Supreme Federal Tribunal, 11 judges are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate

Political parties and leaders

Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Michel TEMER, president]; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB [Jose Carlos MARTINEZ, president]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB [José ANIBAL Peres de Pontes, president]; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Miguel ARRAES, president]; Brazilian Progressive Party or PPB [Paulo MALUF, president]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Renato RABELO, president]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Leonel BRIZOLA, president]; Liberal Front Party or PFL [Jorge BORNHAUSEN, president]; Liberal Party or PL [Valdemar COSTA Neto, president]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Roberto FREIRE, president]; Worker's Party or PT [Jose GENOÍNO, 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

AfDB, BIS, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

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; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress).

See also: Flag of Brazil

See also : Brazil, café com leite, coronelismo, history of Brazil, Integralism