Brazil Flashcards
Legislative Executive System Brazil
Presidential
Strong seperation of powers, similar to US
Unitary of Federal? Brazil
Federal
Competitive Federalism
Symmetrical Federalism
Robust Federalism
No clear divisions of tasks between government and states
Head of State Brazil
President
Appoints cabinet
Initiates legislation (80%)
Emergency decrees
(weak) veto powers
Commander of military forces
Impeachment Procedure brazil
o Chamber of deputy vote (2/3) (lower house)
o Senate vote (2/3)
o 1992: Collor resigns before impeachment
o 2016: Roussef impeached and removed
Lower House Brazil
Chamber of Deputies
Relatively weak
Important platform to acquire policy support and expose corruption
Weak party discipline
Extremely fragmented
Legislation needs 50% of parliament
Chosen by districts
Upper House Brazil
Federal Senate
Staggered elections
SMD / FPTP system
Electoral system Brazil
Proportional representation for chamber of deputies (Open list PR similar to Weimar / French 4th)
Voting for candidates not parties
Mandatory voting
Proportional Geographic representation
Two-round system for president simultaneous with parliamentary
Pork-barrel politics
It refers to national government politicians spending huge amounts of money in their local voting districts to encourage voters to re-elect them at the next elections
Government appropriation or other policy supplying funds for local improvements to ingratiate
legislators with their constituents.
Clientelism
- Reciprocal relation betwoon patron (politician) and client (voter)
Bolsa familia
Bolsa Família wordt wereldwijd beschouwd als een van de meest succesvolle programma’s voor armoedebestrijding
Coalitional Presidentialism
Need for political alliances
rent-seeking
Rent-seeking is the act of growing one’s existing wealth by manipulating the social or political environment without creating new wealth.
Parties Brazil
Left: PT
Centre: MDB / PDSB
Right and Far-Right: DEM / PSL
Co-optation
It may refer to the process of adding members to an elite group at the discretion of members of the body, usually to manage opposition and so maintain the stability of the group. Outsiders are “co-opted” by being given a degree of power on the grounds of their elite status, specialist knowledge, or potential ability to threaten essential commitments or goals (“formal co-optation”).
Liberation Theology
A radical doctrine within the Catholic Church advocating that the church should act to improve the social
and political power of the poor.
Exploitation Colony
Where the primary goal was the extraction of the natural resources, as opposed to settler colonies
Harms of Clientelism
Economic concerns / material benefits becoming the dominating factor in politics
Voters become economically / socially / politically dependent on politicians, losing their free will
= Anti-democratic or corrupt system
Democratic backsliding in Brazil
Contributing Factors: Extreme polarisation, erosion of civil liberties, new corruption scandals
But: Rigid constitution with checks and balances, coalitional presidentialism
Robust Federalism
A system established by Brazil’s current constitution, in which states enjoy very strong power.
Transition to Democracy Brazil
- Abertura: controlled transition
o From military regime to democracy controlled under pressure from the church - 1988: adoption of new constitution
o Contained provisions making the country a militant democracy (like Germany)
o No political party can fight the democracy - 1989-1992: Collor de Mello presidency
o Started with enormous popularity
o Had a corruption scandal - 1993 constitutional referendum
o Republic regime and presidential system
