BRAZIL
History• The Brazilian Empire (1822-1889)• The Old Republic (1889-1930)
– decentralized• The 1930 coup and Vargas (1930-1945)
– Centralized, statist• The Populist Republic (1945-1964)• Bureaucratic Authoritarianism (1964-85)• The transition to democracy (1974-2001)
– Abertura– The Constitution (1988)
• President Lula da Silva (2002-2011)• President Dilma Roussef (2011-)
Political Economy
• Until 1930 export-led growth– Coffee– 1929 great depression-> reduced demand-> – ISI
• 1930-> State-led growth (developmentalism)• 1989- privatization?– BNDES: state-owned development bank
FavelasInsufficient welfare systemlarge social inequalities
Informal sector
Lula focussed on social reform- Bolsa Familia
Migration-> Favellas
Black-white Brazilians
Brazil and regionalism
Government and Policy-making
• The Executive– Presidential system– Centralized authority in the executive
• Federalism– 26 states– competition between the centre and states
• The Legislature: Bicameral• No strict separation of powers
The Executive
• The President: head of state and government• Directly elected every four years• Since 1997- two terms• Emergency measures (2001 changes)• Power to appoint bureaucrats• Personal ties
The Judiciary
• Supreme Court• No clear power to review the executive• It can review corruption cases by
parliamentarians• Appointed by the President, approved by the
senate
Subnational government
• Governor (elected) • Chief advisors• Unicameral legislature• Governors and mayors are essential support
fore Presidents and legislators
The Legislature
• Upper house: Senate (81 members)– Each state elect 3 senators– Part of the senate opens for elections in every 4
years• Lower house: the Chamber of Deputies (513
members)– Elections every four years
The legislature
• Each chamber is equal in law making.• No reconciliation committee• Once both houses pass a bill, the President
can veto or accept• The two houses can override the veto by a
majority of votes• Constitutional amendments require 3/5 of the
votes in each house
The legislature• Weak and fragmented.• Corruption: 147/513 and 21/81 members• Electoral system: – Proportional representation with an open list
Political Parties
• Right– Democrats, Liberal Party, Progressive Party– Neoliberal economic policy
• Center: – Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement, Party
of Brazilian Social Democracy, Brazilian LaborParty• Left – Workers Party, Socialist Party, Communist Party– Reduce inflation, but maintain public sector and
welfare state