Brazil's Conflict
Brazil's transformation from an authoritarian regime to a presidential democracy was a slow and faltered attempt. From the early suggestions of democratic development, there were both administrations that contributed to democratic growth, as well as administrations that opposed this liberalization. This led to instability in the Brazilian form of democratic government, their economy, and their political parties. The people's reactions to these instabilities confirm the fact that the Brazilian democratic regime was not working effectively. Although Brazil was governed under a democratic system because the president was chosen by the people, the president rarely acted in a democratic manner. The first signs of a modern democratic government in Brazil appeared in 1945 when the military deposed President Getúlio Vargas. Vargas had created an authoritarian regime (the Estado Nôvo) based largely on the military. Once Vargas had been removed from power, Brazil instituted a competitive multi-party system. Multi-party systems are not a requirement for democracy, but democratization has been associated with the development of parties.This step towards a true democratic government was negated in 1964 when the military forced a reversion
The Army officer corps choose a general who the Congress would elect for president for a set term. 18 The direct relationship of a president with a military background, in his capacity as commander in chief, to the armed forces can generate a political climate of tension and fear on the part of his opponents. Not all Brazilians were pleased with this though, and so some of these people went on strike. When an MDB Congressman spoke out against these senseless acts, Geisel silenced him by stripping him of his mandates. Since the government's main concern seemed to be retaining their party1s power, they kept the people from making a real difference in choosing the president. In 1973, the OPEC oil price shock took its toll on Brazil, since Brazil imported nearly 80% of its oil. Since ARENA rule was in jeopardy, the plans for gradual redemocrazation became more complicated. More often than not, presidentialism is associated with weak, fractioned, and clientelistic or personalistic parties. "Even if indirect elections were maintained, opposition control of the state legislatures in key states made the danger of government defeat a quasi-certainty. The Figueiredo government did not have the funds to give though, because a great deal of money was tied up in reducing the foreign debt. "26 The struggle between the hardliners and moderates intensified in 1977. Even closer to election time, the government issued another rule; the names of the candidates had to be written in instead of being checked off.
Common topics in this essay:
November Package,
House MDB,
April Package,
Francisco Pinto,
Brazil Presidentialism,
Brazil Brazil,
Chamber Deputies,
Security Law,
,
Congressman MDB,
officer corps,
fifth institutional amendment,
presidential democracy,
institutional amendment,
costa silva,
fifth institutional,
security forces,
economic growth,
national security,
true democratic,
dual legitimacy,
army officer corps,
continued economic growth,
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Acceptance Essays
