Government of Brazil
Brazil is a federal republic, consisting of 26 states and the Federal District of Brasilia. Each state has its own elected legislature and governor.
Brazil's legislative body is the National Congress, which is composed of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate. Deputies are elected, on the basis of population, for a term of four years. Senators serve 8-year terms, with three senators elected from each of the states.
From 1964 to 1985, the military controlled the government under a succession of generals, who suspended constitutional guarantees of rights. Civilian government was restored in 1985, and a new democratic constitution took effect in 1988. It provided for direct elections of a president and vice president to 6-year terms. The president is the head of both state and government.
Independence: Brazil remained an empire from 1822 until 1889. Dom Pedro reigned for nine years, then turned over the throne to his 5-year-old son, Dom Pedro II, who became emperor in 1840 at age 14. Dom Pedro II ruled Brazil for 49 years, during which the nation became larger and richer. Wars with Argentina (1851-52) and Paraguay (1865-70) were settled peacefully. Railroads were built. Rubber from the Amazon jungle doubled foreign trade. And thousands of immigrants swelled the population. But much of the nation's wealth depended on slavery, and economic growth ended when slavery was abolished in 1888. Many large landowners and slaveholders demanded an overthrow of the government. Others, who favored a republican form of government, also wanted change. The old emperor left Brazil, and by 1891, the Republic of Brazil had its first constitution