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History of Brazil (1985-present)
Encyclopedia
The period of Brazilian history since 1985 corresponds to the contemporary epoch in the history of Brazil, since the end of the military regime that had ruled the country from 1964 until 1985 and the restoration of civilian government.
In January 1985 the process of negotiated transition towards democracy reached its climax with the election of Tancredo Neves
of the PMDB party (the party that had always opposed the military regime), as the first civilian president since 1964.
Neves' election to succeed general Figueiredo, the last of the military hand-picked Presidents, was hailed as the dawn of a New Republic (Nova República) and that term, that contrasts with the term República Velha (or Old Republic, the name of the first epoch of the Brazilian Republic, that lasted from 1889 until 1930), became synonym with the contemporary phase of the Brazilian Republic, that is, with the political institutions established in the wake of the country's re-democratization.
The first phase of the Brazilian New Republic, from the inauguration of José Sarney in 1985 (President Tancredo Neves fell ill on the eve of his inauguration so that he could not attend it; his running-mate José Sarney was inaugurated as vice president and served in Tancredo's stead as acting president until Tancredo died, without having ever taken the oath of office, whereupon Sarney succeeded to the presidency) until the inauguration of Fernando Collor in 1990 can be considered a still transitional period because, while the 1967–1969 constitution still remained in force the executive still had enormous powers and the president was able to legislate by means of decree-laws.
In 1986 the Sarney government fulfilled Tancredo's promise of passing in Congress a Constitutional Amendment to the Constitution inherited from the military period, summoning elections for a National Constituent Assembly to draft and adopt a new Constitution for the country. The Constituent Assembly began deliberations in February 1987 and concluded its work on 5 October 1988.
The adoption of Brazil's current Constitution in 1988 completed the process of re-establishment of the democratic institutions. The new Constitution replaced the authoritarian legislation that still remained in place and that had been inherited from the days of the military regime.
In 1989 the first elections for president by direct popular ballot since the military coup of 1964 under the new constitution were held, and Fernando Collor was elected. Collor was inaugurated on 15 March 1990. With the inauguration of the first president elected under the 1988 constitution, the last step in the long process of democratization took place, and the phase of transition was finally over.
Since then, five presidential terms have elapsed, without rupture to the constitutional order: the first term corresponded to the Collor and Franco administrations (Collor was impeached on charges of corruption in 1992 and resigned the presidency, being succeeded by Franco, his vice president); the second and third terms corresponded to the Fernando Henrique Cardoso Administration; and in the fourth and fifth presidential terms Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva served as President. In 2011 the sixth presidential term subsequent to the completion of the transition to democracy started, and Dilma Rousseff currently serves as President of Brazil.
The process of transition towards democracy, that culminated in the end of the military regime in 1985 and the adoption of a new, democratic, Constitution in 1988, was, however, troubled.
The hard-liners reacted to the opening with a series of terrorist bombings. An April 1981 bombing incident confirmed direct military involvement in terrorism
, but Figueiredo proved too weak to punish the guilty. The incident and the regime's inaction strengthened the public's resolve to end military rule. Moreover, Figueiredo faced other significant problems, such as soaring inflation, declining productivity, and a mounting foreign debt.
(IMF) imposed a painful austerity program on Brazil. Under that program, Brazil was required to hold down wages to fight inflation. In the North, Northeast, and even in relatively prosperous Rio Grande do Sul
, impoverished rural people occupied unused private land, forcing the government to create a new land reform ministry. Tension with the Roman Catholic Church, the major voice for societal change, peaked in the early 1980s with the expulsion of foreign priests involved in political and land reform
issues.
To attack the soaring debt
, Figueiredo's administration stressed exports — food, natural resource
s, automobile
s, arms
, clothing
, shoe
s, even electricity
— and expanded petroleum exploration by foreign companies. In foreign relations, the objective was to establish ties with any country that would contribute to Brazilian economic development. Washington was kept at a certain distance, and the North-South dialogue was emphasized.
In 1983, the economy floundered as GDP
declined by 5.0%, the impact of which was accelerated by rising inflation and the failure of political leadership. Figueiredo's heart condition led to bypass surgery in the United States, removing him from control of the situation. In an impressive display, millions of Brazilians took to the streets in all the major cities demanding a direct vote (Diretas Já!
) in the choice of the next president. In April 1984, Congress failed to achieve the necessary numbers to give the people their wish, and the choice was left to an electoral college. Figueiredo did not act forcefully to back a preference, so it became a scramble as candidates pursued the collegial votes.
(PDS, formerly ARENA), the law failed to pass.
Tancredo Neves
of Minas Gerais
, Getúlio Dornelles Vargas' minister of justice in the 1950s, and former federal deputy, senator, and prime minister seized the momentum. Neves had a reputation of honesty.
His abilities allowed him to build up an alliance between the PMDB and defectors from the (PDS) who founded the Liberal Front Party
(PFL). The Democratic Alliance (Aliança Democrática) presented itself as supporting with 1984 demands for political change and end of military rule.
It presented Neves as an opposition candidate against Paulo Maluf
. Tancredo Neves was elected by majority vote of the Parliament on January 15, 1985. However, Neves collapsed the night before his inauguration in March, and died on April 21, passing the presidency to Vice President José Sarney
(president, 1985–90), long-time supporter of the military regime. The hope that 1985 would provide a quick transition to a new regime faded as Brazilians watched the turn of events in a state of shock. Like the regime changes of 1822, 1889, 1930, 1946, and 1964, the 1985 change also proved to be long and difficult.
Sarney's Government fulfilled Tancredo's promise of passing a constitutional amendment to the Constitution inherited from the military regime so as to summon elections for a National Constituent Assembly, with full powers to draft and enact a new democratic constitution for the country. Ulysses Guimarães, who led the civilian resistance to the military rule, was chosen by his fellow Assembly members to preside over the Constituent Assembly, that was in session from February 1987 until October 1988.
The National Constituent Assembly proclaimed a new constitution in October 1988 and restored civil and public rights such as freedom of speech, independent Public Prosecutors (Ministério Público), economic freedom, direct and free elections and universal health system. It also decentralized government, empowering local and state governments.
As the political transition developed, the economy suffered high inflation and stagnancy. Sarney tried to control inflation with many economic acts, or Plans: Plano Cruzado 1, Plano Cruzado 2, Plano Verão. All of them included government control over prices, price freezes and ultimately changing the national currency. During Sarneys's presidency, Brazil had three currency units: Cruzeiro, Cruzado and Cruzado Novo. Economic domestic troubles led to canceling payments of Brazilian International Debt in 1988. This closed international financial markets for Brazil and the economic situation worsened.
Despite the initial decrease, inflation returned higher than before economic plans, achieving 84% a month at 1990. The government's inability to deal with inflation ultimately led parties that had led the political transition to lose the 1989 elections, the first elections under the new Constitution and the first presidential elections to take place by direct popular ballot since the 1964 military coup.
won the run-off election with 53% of the vote for a five-year term.
Collor's agenda focused on fighting corruption in Sarney's administration and completing the transition from the 21-year military rule to civilian government. Economic changes aimed to control soaring inflation and modernization.
Although he had massive support amongst the voters, the administration had a small parliamentary base as Collor's recently founded party had few deputies and no senators and faced fierce opposition from main parties that splintered from Democratic Alliance: the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Liberals
(PFL), and Social Democrats (Brazilian Social Democracy Party
, PSDB).
His first act was known as Plano Collor: all savings accounts and financial investment were frozen, and the national currency was changed from Cruzado Novo to Cruzeiro (NCz$1,000 = Cr$1). Plano Collor had an initial success, but after six months, it failed in its main goal as inflation accelerated again. This started to erode Collor's prestige.
Economic changes included lifting import barriers exposing local companies to international competition. Many companies went bankrupt or were sold, unemployment grew and support for the government deteriorated.
Parliamentary elections were held on October 15, 1990 and the government failed to win a reliable base in Congress and the president started to lose support.
In May 1991, Fernando Collor was accused by his brother, Pedro Collor
, of corruption, by condoning an influence peddling
scheme run by his campaign treasurer, Paulo César Farias
. The Federal Police and Congress began an investigation soon after. Some months later, with the investigation progressing and under fire, Collor went on national television to ask for the people's support, by going out on the street and protesting against "coup" forces. On August 11, 1992, students organized by the National Student Union (União Nacional dos Estudantes – UNE), thousands of students protested on the streets against Collor. Their faces, often painted in a mixture of the colors of the flag and protest-black, lead to them being called "Caras-pintada".
On August 26, 1992, the final congressional inquiry report was released, where it was proven that Fernando Collor had personal expenses paid for by money raised by Paulo César Farias through his influence peddling scheme. Impeachment proceedings were installed in the lower house of congress on September 29, 1992. Collor was impeached, and subsequently removed from office by a vote of 441 for and 38 votes against. Fernando Collor resigned his term in office just before the Brazilian Senate was to vote for his impeachment
. The senate did so anyway, suspending his political rights for eight years.
His vice-president, Itamar Franco
, assumed the presidency for the remainder of Collor's term.
Franco moved away from Collor and made arrangements for a National Coalition Government including main leaders from PMDB, PFL, and PSDB. Franco appointed Fernando Henrique Cardoso
as Minister of Treasury and gave him the responsibility to control inflation – the average annual inflation rate from 1990 to 1995 was 764%.
Cardoso put together a successful stabilization program, Plano Real, that brought inflation to 6% year. Franco's approval ratings rose and he supported Cardoso to succeed him.
In the October 3, 1994 presidential elections, Fernando Henrique Cardoso
, was elected with 54% of the votes.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
started his first term on January 1, 1995 and was reelected in 1998. President Cardoso sought to establish the basis for long-term stability and growth and to reduce Brazil's extreme socioeconomic imbalances. His proposals to Congress included constitutional amendments to open the Brazilian economy to greater foreign investment and to implement sweeping reforms – including social security, government administration, and taxation – to reduce excessive public sector spending and improve government efficiency.
His government is credited with providing economic stability to a country marred by years of hyperinflation. At the same time the Mexican
, 1997 East Asian, 1998 Russian and 1999–2002 Argentinian economic crises diminished the prospects for economic growth during his presidency.
It was also during his administration that many state-owned companies were privatized, and agencies created for the first time to regulate many sectors of industry (energy, oil, aviation, etc.)
Cardoso's administration also placed a strong focus on external affairs. In addition to acceding to the WTO and participating in the Uruguay Round
, Brazil participated in the INTERFET peacekeeping mission to East Timor.
In 2002, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
, of the PT (Workers' Party
), won the presidency with more than 60% of the national vote. In the first months of his mandate, inflation rose perilously, reflecting the markets' uncertainty about the government's monetary policy. However, the markets' confidence in the government was promptly regained as Lula chose to maintain his predecessor policies, meaning the continuation of Central Bank's task of keeping inflation down. Since then, the country underwent considerable economic growth and employment expansion. On the other hand, Lula's mainstream economic policies disappointed his most radical leftist allies, which led to a breakdown in PT (Workers' Party
) that resulted in the creation of PSOL.
In 2005, Roberto Jefferson
, chairman of the Brazilian Labour Party
(PTB), was implicated in a bribery case. As a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry was set up, Jefferson testified that the MPs were being paid monthly stipends to vote for government-backed legislation. Later, in August of the same year, after further investigation, campaign manager Duda Mendonça admitted that he had used illegal undeclared money to finance the PT electoral victory of 2002. The money in both cases was found to have originated from private sources as well as from the advertising budget of state-owned enterprises headed by political appointees, both laundered through Duda's Mendonça advertising agency. The collection of these incidents was dubbed the Mensalão scandal
. On August 24, 2007, the Brazilian Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal) accepted the indictments of 40 individuals relating to the Mensalão scandal, most which are former or current federal deputies, all of which were or still allies of the Brazilian president.
The loss of support resulting from these scandals was outweighed by the president's popularity among the voters of the lower classes, whose income per capita was raised as a consequence of both higher employment, expansion of domestic credit to consumers and government social welfare programs. The stable and solid economic situation of the country, which Brazil had not experienced in the last 20 years, with fast growth in production both for internal consumers and exportation as well as a soft but noticeable decrease in social inequality, may also partially explain the high popularity of Lula's administration even after several scandals of corruption involving important politicians connected to Lula and to PT. Hence Lula's re-election in 2006: After almost winning in the first round, Lula won the run-off against Geraldo Alckmin
of the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party), by a 20 million vote margin.
Following Lula's second victory, his approval ratings started to rise again (fueled by the continuity of the economical and social achievements obtained during the first term) to a record of 80%, the highest for a Brazilian president since the end of the military regime. The focus of Lula's second term have been to further stimulate the economy by investments in infrastructure
and measures to keep expanding the domestic credit to producers, industry, commerce and consumers alike. In 2009, Brazil's economic rise was temporarily halted by a worldwide financial crisis, forcing the government to implement a temporary Tax Relief policy in strategic segments of the economy like automobiles and construction. These measures helped the country to prevent a long term recession and ensured a quick recovery to Brazil's economic ascension.
Another mark of Lula's second term were his efforts to expand Brazil's political influence worldwide, specially after G20 (from which Brazil and other emerging economies participate) replaced the G8 as the main world forum of discussions. Just like his predecessor, he is an active defender of the Reform of the United Nations Security Council
, as Brazil is one of the four nations (the others being Germany, India and Japan) officially coveting a permanent seat in the council. Lula is also notorious for seeing himself as a friendly, peacemaker conciliator Head of State. Managing to befriend leaders of rival countries from the likes of Presidents George W. Bush
and Barack Obama
from the United States to Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez
, Cuban former president Fidel Castro
, the President of Bolivia Evo Morales
, and lastly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, fueling protests inside and outside the country due to Ahmadinejad's polemical anti-Semitic statements. Lula took part in a deal with the governments of Turkey and Iran regarding Iran's nuclear program despite the United States' (among other nuclear powers) desire to strengthen the sanctions against the country, fearing the possibility of Iran develop nuclear weapons.
During the Lula administration the Brazilian Army's most important assignment is by being the main force of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
which have been established to bring aid to the Haitian population, and suffered important casualties during the 2010 Haiti earthquake
which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
also from the Worker's Party was the first woman elected President of Brazil, with her term beginning in the January 1, 2011. In her winning speech, Rousseff, who was also a key member in Lula's administration, made clear that her mission during her term will be to keep enforcing her predecessor's policies to mitigate poverty and ensure Brazil's current economic growth.
Challenges faced during Rousseff's first months of her term include managing the infraestruture projects to increase the country's economic activity with special attention to the 12 cities set to host the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup
to be held in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro
being a special case as it will also hold the 2016 Summer Olympics
), and taking cautionary measures to protect the Brazilian economy in face of the sovereign debt crises in Europe and the United States
.
On June 2011, Rouseff announced a program labelled "Brasil Sem Miséria" (Brazil Without Misery). With the ambitious task of drastically reducing absolute poverty
in Brazil until the end of her term, which currently afflicts 16 million people in the country or a little less than a tenth of the population. The program involves broadening the reach of the Bolsa Família
social welfare program while creating new job opportunities and establishing professional certification
programmes.
In January 1985 the process of negotiated transition towards democracy reached its climax with the election of Tancredo Neves
Tancredo Neves
Tancredo de Almeida Neves, SFO more commonly Tancredo Neves was a Brazilian politician. He was born in São João del Rey, in the state of Minas Gerais, of mostly Portuguese, but also Austrian descent and graduated in law. The Neves family name comes from an Azorean great great grandfather...
of the PMDB party (the party that had always opposed the military regime), as the first civilian president since 1964.
Neves' election to succeed general Figueiredo, the last of the military hand-picked Presidents, was hailed as the dawn of a New Republic (Nova República) and that term, that contrasts with the term República Velha (or Old Republic, the name of the first epoch of the Brazilian Republic, that lasted from 1889 until 1930), became synonym with the contemporary phase of the Brazilian Republic, that is, with the political institutions established in the wake of the country's re-democratization.
The first phase of the Brazilian New Republic, from the inauguration of José Sarney in 1985 (President Tancredo Neves fell ill on the eve of his inauguration so that he could not attend it; his running-mate José Sarney was inaugurated as vice president and served in Tancredo's stead as acting president until Tancredo died, without having ever taken the oath of office, whereupon Sarney succeeded to the presidency) until the inauguration of Fernando Collor in 1990 can be considered a still transitional period because, while the 1967–1969 constitution still remained in force the executive still had enormous powers and the president was able to legislate by means of decree-laws.
In 1986 the Sarney government fulfilled Tancredo's promise of passing in Congress a Constitutional Amendment to the Constitution inherited from the military period, summoning elections for a National Constituent Assembly to draft and adopt a new Constitution for the country. The Constituent Assembly began deliberations in February 1987 and concluded its work on 5 October 1988.
The adoption of Brazil's current Constitution in 1988 completed the process of re-establishment of the democratic institutions. The new Constitution replaced the authoritarian legislation that still remained in place and that had been inherited from the days of the military regime.
In 1989 the first elections for president by direct popular ballot since the military coup of 1964 under the new constitution were held, and Fernando Collor was elected. Collor was inaugurated on 15 March 1990. With the inauguration of the first president elected under the 1988 constitution, the last step in the long process of democratization took place, and the phase of transition was finally over.
Since then, five presidential terms have elapsed, without rupture to the constitutional order: the first term corresponded to the Collor and Franco administrations (Collor was impeached on charges of corruption in 1992 and resigned the presidency, being succeeded by Franco, his vice president); the second and third terms corresponded to the Fernando Henrique Cardoso Administration; and in the fourth and fifth presidential terms Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva served as President. In 2011 the sixth presidential term subsequent to the completion of the transition to democracy started, and Dilma Rousseff currently serves as President of Brazil.
Transition towards democracy
The last military president, João Figueiredo signed a general amnesty into law and turned Geisel's distensão into a gradual abertura (the "opening" of the political system), saying that his goal was "to make this country a democracy.The process of transition towards democracy, that culminated in the end of the military regime in 1985 and the adoption of a new, democratic, Constitution in 1988, was, however, troubled.
The hard-liners reacted to the opening with a series of terrorist bombings. An April 1981 bombing incident confirmed direct military involvement in terrorism
State terrorism
State terrorism may refer to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to acts of violence by a state against its own people.-Definition:...
, but Figueiredo proved too weak to punish the guilty. The incident and the regime's inaction strengthened the public's resolve to end military rule. Moreover, Figueiredo faced other significant problems, such as soaring inflation, declining productivity, and a mounting foreign debt.
Stagnation, inflation, and crisis
Political liberalization and the declining world economy contributed to Brazil's economic and social problems. In 1978 and 1980, huge strikes took place in the industrial ring around São Paulo. Protesters asserted that wage increases indexed to the inflation rate were far below an acceptable standard of living. Union leaders, including the future three-time presidential candidate and president Luís Inácio da Silva, were arrested for violation of national security laws. The International Monetary FundInternational Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF) imposed a painful austerity program on Brazil. Under that program, Brazil was required to hold down wages to fight inflation. In the North, Northeast, and even in relatively prosperous Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
, impoverished rural people occupied unused private land, forcing the government to create a new land reform ministry. Tension with the Roman Catholic Church, the major voice for societal change, peaked in the early 1980s with the expulsion of foreign priests involved in political and land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
issues.
To attack the soaring debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
, Figueiredo's administration stressed exports — food, natural resource
Natural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
s, automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s, arms
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
, clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
, shoe
Shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...
s, even electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
— and expanded petroleum exploration by foreign companies. In foreign relations, the objective was to establish ties with any country that would contribute to Brazilian economic development. Washington was kept at a certain distance, and the North-South dialogue was emphasized.
In 1983, the economy floundered as GDP
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
declined by 5.0%, the impact of which was accelerated by rising inflation and the failure of political leadership. Figueiredo's heart condition led to bypass surgery in the United States, removing him from control of the situation. In an impressive display, millions of Brazilians took to the streets in all the major cities demanding a direct vote (Diretas Já!
Diretas Já
Diretas Já Now) was a civil unrest movement which, in 1984, demanded direct presidential elections in Brazil.-Participants of the movement: The movement brought together diverse elements of Brazilian society. Participants came from a broad spectrum of political parties, trade unions, civil,...
) in the choice of the next president. In April 1984, Congress failed to achieve the necessary numbers to give the people their wish, and the choice was left to an electoral college. Figueiredo did not act forcefully to back a preference, so it became a scramble as candidates pursued the collegial votes.
Transitional period
In 1984, many public demonstrations were held in major Brazilian cities which made it clear that military rule could not continue. Brazilians started to demand change in the electoral system, aiming to directly elect the President (Diretas Já). As public pressure built up, the opposition Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro, PMDB) proposed a law to implement this change (Emenda Dante de Oliveira). As Congress was controlled by the pro-government Democratic Social PartyDemocratic Social Party
The Democratic Social Party was a conservative Brazilian political party.It was established in 1979 as a continuation of the National Renewal Alliance Party , the party which supported the 1965-79 Brazilian dictatorship, at a time in which the country turned to be a democracy...
(PDS, formerly ARENA), the law failed to pass.
Tancredo Neves
Tancredo Neves
Tancredo de Almeida Neves, SFO more commonly Tancredo Neves was a Brazilian politician. He was born in São João del Rey, in the state of Minas Gerais, of mostly Portuguese, but also Austrian descent and graduated in law. The Neves family name comes from an Azorean great great grandfather...
of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, Getúlio Dornelles Vargas' minister of justice in the 1950s, and former federal deputy, senator, and prime minister seized the momentum. Neves had a reputation of honesty.
His abilities allowed him to build up an alliance between the PMDB and defectors from the (PDS) who founded the Liberal Front Party
Democrats (Brazil)
The Democrats is a centre-right political party in Brazil, considered the main in the right-wing spectrum. Despite its former name , the party affiliates itself to the Centrist Democrat International, and the International Democrat Union. The name comes from its support to free market policies...
(PFL). The Democratic Alliance (Aliança Democrática) presented itself as supporting with 1984 demands for political change and end of military rule.
It presented Neves as an opposition candidate against Paulo Maluf
Paulo Maluf
Paulo Salim Maluf is a Brazilian politician with a career spanning over four decades and many functions, including those of State Governor of São Paulo, Mayor of the City of São Paulo, Congressman and Presidential candidate. As of 2011, Maluf is on a second consecutive term as Federal Deputy...
. Tancredo Neves was elected by majority vote of the Parliament on January 15, 1985. However, Neves collapsed the night before his inauguration in March, and died on April 21, passing the presidency to Vice President José Sarney
José Sarney
José Sarney de Araújo Costa is a Brazilian lawyer, writer and politician. He served as president of Brazil from 15 March 1985 to 15 March 1990....
(president, 1985–90), long-time supporter of the military regime. The hope that 1985 would provide a quick transition to a new regime faded as Brazilians watched the turn of events in a state of shock. Like the regime changes of 1822, 1889, 1930, 1946, and 1964, the 1985 change also proved to be long and difficult.
Sarney's Government fulfilled Tancredo's promise of passing a constitutional amendment to the Constitution inherited from the military regime so as to summon elections for a National Constituent Assembly, with full powers to draft and enact a new democratic constitution for the country. Ulysses Guimarães, who led the civilian resistance to the military rule, was chosen by his fellow Assembly members to preside over the Constituent Assembly, that was in session from February 1987 until October 1988.
The National Constituent Assembly proclaimed a new constitution in October 1988 and restored civil and public rights such as freedom of speech, independent Public Prosecutors (Ministério Público), economic freedom, direct and free elections and universal health system. It also decentralized government, empowering local and state governments.
As the political transition developed, the economy suffered high inflation and stagnancy. Sarney tried to control inflation with many economic acts, or Plans: Plano Cruzado 1, Plano Cruzado 2, Plano Verão. All of them included government control over prices, price freezes and ultimately changing the national currency. During Sarneys's presidency, Brazil had three currency units: Cruzeiro, Cruzado and Cruzado Novo. Economic domestic troubles led to canceling payments of Brazilian International Debt in 1988. This closed international financial markets for Brazil and the economic situation worsened.
Despite the initial decrease, inflation returned higher than before economic plans, achieving 84% a month at 1990. The government's inability to deal with inflation ultimately led parties that had led the political transition to lose the 1989 elections, the first elections under the new Constitution and the first presidential elections to take place by direct popular ballot since the 1964 military coup.
Collor and Franco administrations
The first direct presidential election after 29 years was held on October 15, 1989 (first round) and November 15, 1989 (second round). Fernando Collor de MelloFernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello was the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his trial of impeachment by the Brazilian Senate...
won the run-off election with 53% of the vote for a five-year term.
Collor's agenda focused on fighting corruption in Sarney's administration and completing the transition from the 21-year military rule to civilian government. Economic changes aimed to control soaring inflation and modernization.
Although he had massive support amongst the voters, the administration had a small parliamentary base as Collor's recently founded party had few deputies and no senators and faced fierce opposition from main parties that splintered from Democratic Alliance: the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Liberals
Democrats (Brazil)
The Democrats is a centre-right political party in Brazil, considered the main in the right-wing spectrum. Despite its former name , the party affiliates itself to the Centrist Democrat International, and the International Democrat Union. The name comes from its support to free market policies...
(PFL), and Social Democrats (Brazilian Social Democracy Party
Brazilian Social Democracy Party
The Brazilian Social Democracy Party is a centrist political party in Brazil. Originally a centre-left party at the time of its foundation, PSDB moved to the centre after Fernando Henrique Cardoso forged an alliance with the right-wing Liberal...
, PSDB).
His first act was known as Plano Collor: all savings accounts and financial investment were frozen, and the national currency was changed from Cruzado Novo to Cruzeiro (NCz$1,000 = Cr$1). Plano Collor had an initial success, but after six months, it failed in its main goal as inflation accelerated again. This started to erode Collor's prestige.
Parliamentary elections were held on October 15, 1990 and the government failed to win a reliable base in Congress and the president started to lose support.
In May 1991, Fernando Collor was accused by his brother, Pedro Collor
Pedro Collor
Pedro Afonso Collor de Melo was the brother of former Brazilian president Fernando Collor. Working for the Collor family's newspaper Gazeta de Alagoas, Pedro Collor gained prominence when made a series of accusations against his brother, who was then president. The allegations include corruption,...
, of corruption, by condoning an influence peddling
Influence peddling
Influence peddling is the illegal practice of using one's influence in government or connections with persons in authority to obtain favors or preferential treatment for another, usually in return for payment. Also called traffic of influence or trading in influence ...
scheme run by his campaign treasurer, Paulo César Farias
Paulo Cesar Farias
Paulo Cesar Farias was the political campaign treasurer of Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello and a central figure in the corruption scandal that resulted in Collor's 1992 removal from Brazil's presidential office....
. The Federal Police and Congress began an investigation soon after. Some months later, with the investigation progressing and under fire, Collor went on national television to ask for the people's support, by going out on the street and protesting against "coup" forces. On August 11, 1992, students organized by the National Student Union (União Nacional dos Estudantes – UNE), thousands of students protested on the streets against Collor. Their faces, often painted in a mixture of the colors of the flag and protest-black, lead to them being called "Caras-pintada".
On August 26, 1992, the final congressional inquiry report was released, where it was proven that Fernando Collor had personal expenses paid for by money raised by Paulo César Farias through his influence peddling scheme. Impeachment proceedings were installed in the lower house of congress on September 29, 1992. Collor was impeached, and subsequently removed from office by a vote of 441 for and 38 votes against. Fernando Collor resigned his term in office just before the Brazilian Senate was to vote for his impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
. The senate did so anyway, suspending his political rights for eight years.
His vice-president, Itamar Franco
Itamar Franco
Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco was a Brazilian politician and the President of Brazil from December 29, 1992, to January 1, 1995. During his long political career, Franco was also a Senator, Mayor, Ambassador, Governor and Vice President...
, assumed the presidency for the remainder of Collor's term.
Franco moved away from Collor and made arrangements for a National Coalition Government including main leaders from PMDB, PFL, and PSDB. Franco appointed Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
as Minister of Treasury and gave him the responsibility to control inflation – the average annual inflation rate from 1990 to 1995 was 764%.
Cardoso put together a successful stabilization program, Plano Real, that brought inflation to 6% year. Franco's approval ratings rose and he supported Cardoso to succeed him.
In the October 3, 1994 presidential elections, Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
, was elected with 54% of the votes.
FHC administration
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
started his first term on January 1, 1995 and was reelected in 1998. President Cardoso sought to establish the basis for long-term stability and growth and to reduce Brazil's extreme socioeconomic imbalances. His proposals to Congress included constitutional amendments to open the Brazilian economy to greater foreign investment and to implement sweeping reforms – including social security, government administration, and taxation – to reduce excessive public sector spending and improve government efficiency.
His government is credited with providing economic stability to a country marred by years of hyperinflation. At the same time the Mexican
1994 economic crisis in Mexico
The 1994 Economic Crisis in Mexico, widely known as the Mexican peso crisis, was caused by the sudden devaluation of the Mexican peso in December 1994....
, 1997 East Asian, 1998 Russian and 1999–2002 Argentinian economic crises diminished the prospects for economic growth during his presidency.
It was also during his administration that many state-owned companies were privatized, and agencies created for the first time to regulate many sectors of industry (energy, oil, aviation, etc.)
Cardoso's administration also placed a strong focus on external affairs. In addition to acceding to the WTO and participating in the Uruguay Round
Uruguay Round
The Uruguay Round was the 8th round of Multilateral trade negotiations conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , spanning from 1986-1994 and embracing 123 countries as “contracting parties”. The Round transformed the GATT into the World Trade Organization...
, Brazil participated in the INTERFET peacekeeping mission to East Timor.
Lula administration
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
, of the PT (Workers' Party
Workers' Party (Brazil)
The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...
), won the presidency with more than 60% of the national vote. In the first months of his mandate, inflation rose perilously, reflecting the markets' uncertainty about the government's monetary policy. However, the markets' confidence in the government was promptly regained as Lula chose to maintain his predecessor policies, meaning the continuation of Central Bank's task of keeping inflation down. Since then, the country underwent considerable economic growth and employment expansion. On the other hand, Lula's mainstream economic policies disappointed his most radical leftist allies, which led to a breakdown in PT (Workers' Party
Workers' Party (Brazil)
The Workers' Party is a democratic socialist political party in Brazil. Launched in 1980, it is recognized as one of the largest and most important left-wing movements of Latin America. It governs at the federal level in a coalition government with several other parties since January 1, 2003...
) that resulted in the creation of PSOL.
In 2005, Roberto Jefferson
Roberto Jefferson
Roberto Jefferson Monteiro Francisco is a Brazilian politician. He was born on June 14, 1953 in Petrópolis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Neusa Dalva Monteiro Francisco and Roberto Francisco...
, chairman of the Brazilian Labour Party
Brazilian Labour Party (current)
The Brazilian Labour Party is a center-right political party in Brazil founded in 1981 by Ivete Vargas, niece of President Getúlio Vargas. It claims the legacy of the historical PTB, although many historians reject this because the early version of PTB was a center-left party with wide support in...
(PTB), was implicated in a bribery case. As a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry was set up, Jefferson testified that the MPs were being paid monthly stipends to vote for government-backed legislation. Later, in August of the same year, after further investigation, campaign manager Duda Mendonça admitted that he had used illegal undeclared money to finance the PT electoral victory of 2002. The money in both cases was found to have originated from private sources as well as from the advertising budget of state-owned enterprises headed by political appointees, both laundered through Duda's Mendonça advertising agency. The collection of these incidents was dubbed the Mensalão scandal
Mensalão scandal
The Mensalão scandal took place in Brazil in 2005 and threatened to bring down the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Mensalão is a neologism and variant of the word for "big monthly payment"...
. On August 24, 2007, the Brazilian Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal) accepted the indictments of 40 individuals relating to the Mensalão scandal, most which are former or current federal deputies, all of which were or still allies of the Brazilian president.
The loss of support resulting from these scandals was outweighed by the president's popularity among the voters of the lower classes, whose income per capita was raised as a consequence of both higher employment, expansion of domestic credit to consumers and government social welfare programs. The stable and solid economic situation of the country, which Brazil had not experienced in the last 20 years, with fast growth in production both for internal consumers and exportation as well as a soft but noticeable decrease in social inequality, may also partially explain the high popularity of Lula's administration even after several scandals of corruption involving important politicians connected to Lula and to PT. Hence Lula's re-election in 2006: After almost winning in the first round, Lula won the run-off against Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo Alckmin
Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho , known as Geraldo Alckmin is a Brazilian politician, who has been elected as the new governor of São Paulo, doing it for the second time, and former candidate for president of Brazil in the 2006 Elections...
of the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party), by a 20 million vote margin.
Following Lula's second victory, his approval ratings started to rise again (fueled by the continuity of the economical and social achievements obtained during the first term) to a record of 80%, the highest for a Brazilian president since the end of the military regime. The focus of Lula's second term have been to further stimulate the economy by investments in infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
and measures to keep expanding the domestic credit to producers, industry, commerce and consumers alike. In 2009, Brazil's economic rise was temporarily halted by a worldwide financial crisis, forcing the government to implement a temporary Tax Relief policy in strategic segments of the economy like automobiles and construction. These measures helped the country to prevent a long term recession and ensured a quick recovery to Brazil's economic ascension.
Another mark of Lula's second term were his efforts to expand Brazil's political influence worldwide, specially after G20 (from which Brazil and other emerging economies participate) replaced the G8 as the main world forum of discussions. Just like his predecessor, he is an active defender of the Reform of the United Nations Security Council
Reform of the United Nations Security Council
Reform of the United Nations Security Council encompasses five key issues: categories of membership, the question of the veto held by the five permanent members, regional representation, the size of an enlarged Council and its working methods, and the Security Council-General Assembly relationship...
, as Brazil is one of the four nations (the others being Germany, India and Japan) officially coveting a permanent seat in the council. Lula is also notorious for seeing himself as a friendly, peacemaker conciliator Head of State. Managing to befriend leaders of rival countries from the likes of Presidents George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
from the United States to Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
, Cuban former president Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, the President of Bolivia Evo Morales
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
, and lastly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, fueling protests inside and outside the country due to Ahmadinejad's polemical anti-Semitic statements. Lula took part in a deal with the governments of Turkey and Iran regarding Iran's nuclear program despite the United States' (among other nuclear powers) desire to strengthen the sanctions against the country, fearing the possibility of Iran develop nuclear weapons.
During the Lula administration the Brazilian Army's most important assignment is by being the main force of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
The United Nations Stabilisation Mission In Haiti , also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of the French translation, is a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti that has been in operation since 2004. The mission's military component is led by the Brazilian Army and the force commander is...
which have been established to bring aid to the Haitian population, and suffered important casualties during the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Rousseff Administration
On October 31, 2010, Dilma RousseffDilma Rousseff
Dilma Vana Rousseff is the 36th and current President of Brazil. She is the first woman to hold the office. Prior to that, in 2005, she was also the first woman to become Chief of Staff of Brazil, appointed by then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva....
also from the Worker's Party was the first woman elected President of Brazil, with her term beginning in the January 1, 2011. In her winning speech, Rousseff, who was also a key member in Lula's administration, made clear that her mission during her term will be to keep enforcing her predecessor's policies to mitigate poverty and ensure Brazil's current economic growth.
Challenges faced during Rousseff's first months of her term include managing the infraestruture projects to increase the country's economic activity with special attention to the 12 cities set to host the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014....
to be held in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
being a special case as it will also hold the 2016 Summer Olympics
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...
), and taking cautionary measures to protect the Brazilian economy in face of the sovereign debt crises in Europe and the United States
United States debt-ceiling crisis
The United States debt-ceiling crisis was a financial crisis in 2011 that started as a debate in the United States Congress about increasing the debt ceiling. The immediate crisis ended when a complex deal was reached that raised the debt ceiling and reduced future government spending...
.
On June 2011, Rouseff announced a program labelled "Brasil Sem Miséria" (Brazil Without Misery). With the ambitious task of drastically reducing absolute poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
in Brazil until the end of her term, which currently afflicts 16 million people in the country or a little less than a tenth of the population. The program involves broadening the reach of the Bolsa Família
Bolsa Família
Bolsa Família is a social welfare program of the Brazilian government, part of the Fome Zero network of federal assistance programs. Bolsa Família provides financial aid to poor Brazilian families; if they have children, families must ensure that the infants attend school and are vaccinated...
social welfare program while creating new job opportunities and establishing professional certification
Professional certification
Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task...
programmes.