December 2013

Government System of Brazil

Vol. 1 Issue 1

The Federal District

The Federal District of Brazil is reserved for the capital city, Brasilia. Brasilia is not a state and cannot be divided into municipalities. However, it is divided into 29 administrative regions, near the Central Plateau of Brazil.

The Municipalities
The Municipalities make up Brazils rural areas. There are 5,500 individual municipalities and each are autonomous. Essentially, they are allowed to create their own laws into their local form of government.

Created By: Darrin Cayatineto

Background
Brazils government system was established under the 1988 Constitution as amended. Previous government systems were called the old republic, the second republic, and now the new republic. The government system is a Federal Republic. Brazil is divided into 26 states and one federal district, Brasilia. The 26 divided states has its own governor and legislature that are responsible for carrying out government system duties. There is three branches of government which include the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branch. Also, the government is comprised of a president, a bicameral legislature that consist of an upper Federal Senate and a lower Chamber of Deputies, political parties, and municipalities.

The President
The president of Brazil is elected by a majority vote and serves one term of four years but is only allowed two term upon popular vote. The president is in charge of both the head of state and head of government. Today, President th Dilma Rousseff is the 36 president of Brazil and was the first woman ever to be elected as president in 2010.

The Court Systems

The Judicial System is based on the Constitution of 1988. The legal system is also based on Civil Law traditions. The states, the federal districts, the federal government, and municipalities are all independent. However, they are all limited by the principles established in the Federal Constitutions when it comes to the court systems.

Political Parties
There is a variety of political parties which include the Liberal Front party (also known as the Democrats party), the Democratic Labor Party, the Brazilian Social Democracy party, and the Workers Party. The majority of the party is followed by the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party.

Current President of Brazil: Dilma Rousseff