POLITICS AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION

Political Organization

National capital: Brasilia
Administrative divisions: 26 states and 1 federal district (Brasilia); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins

Branches of Government

A) Executive branch:

Chief of state: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1 January 1995); Vice President Marco MACIEL (since 1 January 1995); note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government.

Head of government: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1 January 1995); Vice President Marco MACIEL (since 1 January 1995); note-the president is both the chief of state and head of government

Cabinet appointed by the president

Presidential elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; Next elections: 2002)

Election results: Fernando Henrique CARDOSO elected president; percent of vote-Fernando Henrique CARDOSO 53%, Luis Inacio LULA da Silva 26%, Eneas CARNEIRO 7%, Orestes QUERCIA 4%, Leonel BRIZOLA 3%, Espiridiao AMIN 3%; note-second direct presidential election since 1960

B) Legislative branch:

Two chamber National Congress: Federal Senate (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 (Camara dos Deputados), composed of , 513 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)

Election results: Federal Senate-percent of vote by party-PMDB 28%, PFL 22%, PSDB 12%, PPR 7%, PDT 7%, PT 6%, PTB 6%, other 12%; seats by party-NA; Chamber of Deputies-percent of vote by party-PMDB 21%, PFL 18%, PDT 7%, PSDB 12%, PPR 10%, PTB 6%, PT 10%, other 16%; seats by party-NA

BRAZILIAN PARTIES (By Order of Seats in the Chamber of Deputies) PMDB - Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party); PFL - Partido da Frente Liberal (Liberal Front Party); PSDB - Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira (Brazilian Social Democracy Party); PPR - Partido Progressista Reformador (Reformer Progressist Party); PT - Partido dos Trabalhadores (Worker's Party); PP - Partido Progressista (Progressist Party); PDT - Partido Democrático Trabalhista (Worker's Democratic Party); PSB - Partido Socialista Brasileiro (Brazilian Socialist Party); PL - Partido Liberal (Liberal Party); Pc do B - Partido Comunista do Brasil (Brazilian Comunist Party); PMN - Partido da Mobilização Nacional (National Mobilization's Party); PSD - Partido Social Democrático (Social Democratic Party); PSC - Partido Social Cristão (Social Christian Party); PPS - Partido Popular Socialista (Popular Socialist Party); PRN - Partido da Reconstrução Nacional (National Reconstruction's Party); PV - Partido Verde (Green Party); PRP - Partido Republicano Progressista (Progressist Republican Party). note: party totals since the fall of 1994 have changed considerably due to extensive party-switching

C) Judicial branch:

Supreme Federal Tribunal, 11 judges are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate

Political Parties

In November 1979 Congress disbanded the two existing political parties, both created in 1965. In the more liberal political climate of the 1980s more than three dozen new political parties were formed, including the progovernment Brazilian Democratic Movement and Liberal Front parties and, among the opposition parties, the Social Democratic Party and the Brazilian Communist Party (renamed the Popular Socialist Party in 1992).

Political parties and leaders: Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Paes DE ANDRADE, president]; Liberal Front Party or PFL [Jose JORGE, president]; Workers' Party or PT [Jose DIRCEU, president]; Brazilian Workers' Party or PTB [Rodrigues PALMA, president]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Leonel BRIZOLA, president]; Brazilian Progressive Party or PPB [Espiridiao AMIN, president]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB [Artur DA TAVOLA, president]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Roberto FREIRE, president]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Joao AMAZONAS, chairman]; Liberal Party or PL [Alvaro VALLE, president]

Political pressure groups and leaders: left wing of the Catholic Church, Landless Worker's Movement, and labor unions allied to leftist Workers' Party are critical of government's social and economic policies.

VOTING and CONGRESSIONAL MANDATES

Right to vote: voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age

Elected for a nonrenewable four-year term. The Brazilian National Congress consists of an 81-member Senate serving eight-year terms and a 513-member Chamber of Deputies serving four-year terms. The twenty-six states have their own local governments. In reaction to previous repressive legislation, the constitution outlaws torture, provides for popular votes on major issues, forbids most censorship, and guarantees rights to privacy and to strike. The Brazilian military, however, retains the right to intervene in politics to preserve law and order.

Other Information

Flag description: green 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; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)

Independence: 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
National holiday: Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
Latest Constitution: 5 October 1988
Legal system: based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction