BRAZILBRAZIL

BrazilBrazil

• Transitional Democracy.Transitional Democracy.• Decentralized and highly fragmented Decentralized and highly fragmented

political order.political order.• Steady urbanization process. Steady urbanization process. • Large and diverse population.Large and diverse population.• Astonishing poverty and inequality.Astonishing poverty and inequality.• Traditionally State-led economy.Traditionally State-led economy.• Cycles of democratic suspension.Cycles of democratic suspension.

History.History.

• 14941494 Treaty of Tordesillas gave Portugal Treaty of Tordesillas gave Portugal rights on the Eastern part of today Brazil.rights on the Eastern part of today Brazil.

• 1500 1500 – Arrival of the first Portuguese.– Arrival of the first Portuguese.

• 15301530 – Dom Joao III organized 15 – Dom Joao III organized 15 capitanías or states and gave them to capitanías or states and gave them to members of the Portuguese elites (roots members of the Portuguese elites (roots of present Federalism).of present Federalism).

History1807- 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—MonarchyMonarchy. Abdicates in 1831.

1840—Dom Pedro II

1888—Princess Isabel (regent)declares slavery abolished.

1889—Military coup creates a republicrepublic (elites from Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais alternate).

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.

History.1955—Kubitschek1960—Janio Quadros—Resigns after 7 months1961—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 Franco1994-1998-2002-Fernando Henrique Cardoso.2002-Lula

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.

1988 Constitution—Main Features

Presidentialist (direct election), 4 years (can be reelected once). Checks.

Bicameral National Congress

SenateSenate (81 members elected for 8 years), 3 senators per state (26 states)

Chamber of DeputiesChamber 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.

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)

Economic Booms

• Sugar (1500s)Sugar (1500s)

• Gold (1690)Gold (1690)

• DiamondsDiamonds

• TobaccoTobacco

• CottonCotton

• CoffeeCoffee

Depended on

Slave Labor

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 countrylast Western country in emancipating its slaves.

The U.S. And Brazil...

Were the two largest slave societies two largest slave societies of modern timesof modern times.

-From 1500 on, European slave traders brought more than 10 more than 10 millionmillion enslaved Africans to the Americas.

-One/two million died in routeOne/two million died in route.

The Brazilian “miracle”?• 1930s—import substitution, industrialization.

State protectionist policies• 1968-1974 annual growth rate averaged 10% 1968-1974 annual growth rate averaged 10%

(based on foreign capital---capital flight).Third World’s largest foreign debt.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.

Inequality

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

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.

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 Do class differences hide racism in Brazil, or rather racial categories hide class differences rather racial categories hide class differences in the U.S.?in the U.S.?

Class or Race? Class or Race?

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)

Police Killings of Citizens

• 1992, Sao Paulo, 1,470 killings.1992, Sao Paulo, 1,470 killings.

• 1985-1992—Los Angeles, average of 25 annual killings.

• 1985-1992—New York, average of 23.

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 malesPoor black males are most vulnerable.