1 / 19

Brazil: the 1988 Constitution

Brazil: the 1988 Constitution. Representative Democracy under the Center-Right?. CONSTITUTION OF 1988. Three branches of government – executive, legislative, and judicial.

dean-merritt
Download Presentation

Brazil: the 1988 Constitution

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Brazil: the 1988 Constitution Representative Democracy under the Center-Right?

  2. CONSTITUTION OF 1988 • Three branches of government – executive, legislative, and judicial. • The distribution of power, the limits on the states and governmental authority, and how policy is framed and executed changed substantially under 1988 constitution.

  3. 1988 constitution continues over-representation of small states • Half of tax revenue returned to states with no mandates as to how money will be spent • Assists in maintaining clientilism at local level • Congressmen tasked with “bringing home the bacon” • Implications of Itamar Franco’s challenge (as Governor of Minas Gerias) to the national executive 6 Robust Federalism

  4. Patterned on U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers • President elected directly by people • Bicameral Congress • Chamber of Deputies (513 members) • Senate: Three members from each state and the Federal District (81 members) • Supreme Court (power of judicial review) Institutions of the 1988 Republic

  5. Itamar Franco as a caretaker president • Another accidental presidency • Fernando Henrique Cardoso as architect of economic recovery {Real Plan} • Resounding victory by Henrique Cardoso: Two rounds permitted only one necessary Presidential Election of 1994

  6. 1994 Election Results

  7. President Fernando Henrique Carsodo • Rio de Janeiro native • Son of an Army officer • Spent much of the military regime in exile

  8. Again Fernando Henrique Cardoso • One Round Only • Luis Inacio “Lula” de Silva 32% • Cardoso 53% • Winning coalition • Social Democrats (PSDB) • Liberal Front (PFL) party of Jose Sarney • Labor Party (PTB) party of Ivette Vargas Presidential Election of 1998

  9. 1998 Election Results

  10. Formal powers among the most sweeping in Latin America • Veto legislation (wholly or in part) • Can initiate legislation – including public spending • Can force congress to take up legislation deemed urgent • Multi-party system forces president to build coalitions The Presidency and the Congress

  11. Lower house, the Chamber of Deputies: comprises 513 representatives from 26 states and the Federal District • Size of each state’s delegation is determined in proportion to its population. • Constitution establishes a minimum of eight and a maximum of seventy deputies for each state. • These limits under-represents residents of the densely populated southeastern and southern states. • Congress no longer a rubber stamp. • Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry (CPIs) Legislative Branch: Institutions & Structures

  12. Comprised of the Supreme Court, the Superior Court, five regional federal appeals courts, labor courts, electoral courts, military courts, and state courts. • Constitution stipulates criteria for • Entry into judicial service = competitive exam • Promotion = by seniority and merit • Mandatory retirement = age of 70 or after 30 years of service • Eleven justices, or “ministers,” are named by the president to the Supreme (constitutional Court, - Supremo Tribunal Federal (STP) –and approved by the Senate, as are thirty-three ministers to the Superior (Civil) Court. • Tribunal Superior Eleitoral Institutions & Structures: The Judiciary I

  13. Labor Courts created by the Consolidated Labor Code of 1943 • Military justice system also retained in the 1988 Constitution • Courts stronger today than every before • Overloaded docket • Lower courts’ decisions are not binding or final, cases are appealed repeatedly until they finally reach the STF. • Direct action of unconstitutionality (ADIN) Institutions & Structures: The Judiciary II

  14. Extends the traditional guarantees of individual rights to social groups • Prohibits discrimination against minorities • Grants parties, unions, and civic associations legal recourse against the actions of other social actors and permits them to challenge before the Supreme Court the constitutionality of legislation and administrative rulings. Constitutional Limitations on Government Authority I

  15. Presidential limits when invoking a state of siege • Judicial review • Ministerio Publico (Public Prosecution) • Tribunal de Contas Constitutional Limitations on Government Authority

More Related