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Politics of BrazilBrazil is a federal republic with 26 states and a federal district (see: States of Brazil).
GovernmentThe 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 partiessee List of political parties in Brazil States and municipalitiesStates 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
Country name
Government typeFederative republic CapitalAdministrative divisions26 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 Independence7 September 1822 (from Portugal) National holidayIndependence Day, 7 September (1822) ConstitutionBrazil has had seven constitutions:
Legal systemBased on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction. SuffrageSuffrage 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
ElectionsPresident 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 resultsLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva elected president; percent of vote - 61.2% Legislative branchBicameral 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 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 resultsFederal 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 branchBrazilian 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 Justiça in Portuguese). Some states, as São Paulo and Minas Gerais, have Courts of Appeals (Tribunal de Alçada 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 (Seções Judiciárias 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 (Justiça 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 Justiça 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 Extraordinário 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 leadersBrazilian 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 [Carlos LUPI, president; (Leonel BRIZOLA, in memoriam)]; 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 leadersLeft 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 participationAfrican 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 , Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración, 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 descriptionGreen 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 See also : Brazil, café com leite, coronelismo, history of Brazil, Integralism The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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