BRAZIL

1. BRAZIL

2. Brazil • Transitional Democracy. • Decentralized and highly fragmented political order. • Steady urbanization process. • Large and diverse population. • Astonishing poverty and inequality. • Traditionally State-led economy. • Cycles of democratic suspension.

3. History. • 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas gave Portugal rights on the Eastern part of today Brazil. • 1500 – Arrival of the first Portuguese. • 1530 – Dom Joao III organized 15 capitanías or states and gave them to members of the Portuguese elites (roots of present Federalism).

4. History 1807- Napoleon’s army takes Portugal. The Royal Court flees to Brazil (Dom Joao VI) 1815 – Brazil becomes a Kingdom. 1821—Dom Joao returns to Portugal, and leaves his son, Dom Pedro, as regent. 1822—Dom Pedro proclaims Brazil independent—Monarchy. Abdicates in 1831. 1840—Dom Pedro II 1888—Princess Isabel (regent)declares slavery abolished. 1889—Military coup creates a republic (elites from Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais alternate).

5. History. Sept. 1930—Getulio Vargas claims the election was stolen from him, and takes over the government with military support (New Constitution in 1934). 1937—Vargas’ “autogolpe”—Estado Novo. 1945—The military forces Vargas to resign (Dutra). 1950—Reelected, Vargas is forced to resign in 1954, and he commits suicide.

6. History. 1955—Kubitschek 1960—Janio Quadros—Resigns after 7 months 1961—Joao Goulart. March 31, 1964—military coup (Beginning of the Bureaucratic Authoritarian State). 1985—Democratic Transition: elected president Tancredo Neves died before assuming– José Sarney becomes the president (for 5 years). 1990-Collor de Mello (impeached in 1992 for corruption—now lives in Miami) 1992-Itamar Franco 1994-1998-2002-Fernando Henrique Cardoso. 2002-Lula

7. Constitutions • 1824-Liberal • 1831-Act sets up the states’ rights and introduces Federalism • 1891-Republican (modeled upon the U.S. Constitution) • 1934- Corporatist elements • 1988 (current) Constitution.

8. 1988 Constitution—Main Features Presidentialist (direct election), 4 years (can be reelected once). Checks. Bicameral National Congress Senate (81 members elected for 8 years), 3 senators per state (26 states) Chamber of Deputies (513 members elected for 4 years based on proportional representation) Electoral System: “open-list proportional representation.” Voting starts at 16. Also: Social and economic rights, Indigenous people’s rights, Environmental protection, People’s initiatives and vetoes.

9. Fragmented Party System • Fake parties were created under the military (ARENA, Movimento Democratico Brasileiro, MDB). • Workers’ parties: Lula’s PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores); Leonel Brizola’s Partido Democratico Trabalhista, PDT) • Center: Cardoso’s Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira (PSDB) • Conservative: Partido da Frente Liberal (Sarney)

10. Economic Booms • Sugar (1500s) • Gold (1690) • Diamonds • Tobacco • Cotton • Coffee Slave Labor Depended on

11. Slavery in Brazil. • Importations of slaves to Brazil began in 1549. • Rio de Janeiro became the greatest slave city in history = Ancient Rome. • By the end of slave trade 3.5 million African people had been brought to Brazil. • Freed in 1761 in Portugal, slaves continued existing in Brazil. • 1888 – Abolition of Slavery by Princess Isabel. Brazil was the last Western country in emancipating its slaves.

12. The U.S. And Brazil... Were the two largest slave societies of modern times. -From 1500 on, European slave traders brought more than 10 million enslaved Africans to the Americas. -One/two million died in route.

13. The Brazilian “miracle”? • 1930s—import substitution, industrialization. State protectionist policies • 1968-1974 annual growth rate averaged 10% (based on foreign capital---capital flight). Third World’s largest foreign debt. • 1980s, recession. • 1986 Cruzado Plan (frozen prices and wages) • 1987 high inflation, austerity plan. • 1990s Privatizations (Collor sold steel and petroleum industries; Cardoso sold telecommunications) • 1998-Devaluation.

14. Inequality • The ratio of the top fifth of incomes to the bottom fifth equaled 32 in 1996 (UN Human Development Report).

15. Ethnic Groups • The indigenous population was reduced from 800,000 in 1570 to 360,000 in 1825 (exterminated). • Of the 270 tribes found at the beginning of the 20th century, 90 have disappeared (killed by ranchers and miners). • 1890 – Brazil banned the immigration of Black people • 1870-1963 – Over five million European immigrants (explicit preferences for Europeans) • Also Japanese and Arabic immigration.

16. Diverse but harmonious society? Brazilian official discourse has always denied the existence of racism in the country. Yet, the part of the population with African roots tend to be the poorest ones. Anthony Marx (an American scholar) denounces the existence of hidden racism in Brazil. Do class differences hide racism in Brazil, or rather racial categories hide class differences in the U.S.? Class or Race?

17. Violence & “Social Cleansing” • From 1955 on: “Death Squads” (off-duty cops + civilians) execute suspected criminals and street children (who are supposed to grow into criminals). • “Vigilantes.” • Differential crime and state-sponsored violence rates. • 1984-1996—69,700 homicides in Sao Paulo (more than known U.S. Casualties in the Vietnam War)

18. Police Killings of Citizens • 1992, Sao Paulo, 1,470 killings. • 1985-1992—Los Angeles, average of 25 annual killings. • 1985-1992—New York, average of 23.

19. Differential homicide rates • Brazil 25.4/00000 in 1997 (in the U.S., the rate was 10.1 in 1997 and 6.3 in 1998) • Sao Paulo’s Diadema 140 • Sao Paulo’s Embu 97.32 • Recife 105 • Poor black males are most vulnerable.