The Transition to Democracy in Brazil

1986 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Mainwaring

On January 15,1985, Brazil elected a new president, 74 year-old Tancredo Neves, a moderate career politician who had been one of the important leaders of the opposition to the military regime which took power in 1964. Tancredo died before assuming office, but the elected Vice-president elect, José Sarney, took over the Executive Office on March 15,1985, bringing to an end 21 years of military rule. Arguably, the transition in Brazil is the most important of the recent transitions in South America (Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia), given the country's size, population, and influence, and given the fact that Neves' election marked the demise of the most successful and long-lived bureaucratic-authoritarian regime in the region. As a result, the nature and implications of the Brazilian transition will have considerable significance for understanding the political reality of the region during the next several years.

1990 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah L. Norden

The 1980s Witnessed a series of halting, tenuous but, nonetheless, widely—hailed transitions from military regimes to constitutional democracies throughout South America. Yet, despite the initial optimism, the political newcomers faced formidable tasks. Not only had memories of democratic rule and practices grown dim in the years of disuse, but, with few exceptions, new governments found themselves threatened by a deteriorating economy with bleak prospects for the future. Equally — perhaps even more — threatening was the fact that though the military regimes may have relinquished their position, they had not necessarily relinquished their power, which raised the possibility that their civilian successors might not be able to stay in office long enough to confront their multifarious problems.In Argentina, the risk of a return to military rule was perhaps even greater than in some of its neighbors as the country had experienced a mosaic of alternating military and civilian governments ever since 1930.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 09-22
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Pinto de Andrade ◽  
Rogerio De Almeida Souza

Este texto tem como objetivo analisar a vida e a obra de Jaime Nelson Wright (1927-1999), pastor presbiteriano, opositor do regime militar no Brasil e intelectual engajado na luta pela defesa dos direitos humanos. Foi uma das vozes que mais combateu a ditadura militar no interior do protestantismo brasileiro. Desde a deflagração do golpe em 1964, fez a opção político/religiosa de não aderir ao regime autoritário. Wright se vinculou ao movimento estudantil e dedicou-se ao amparo religioso/pastoral dos perseguidos políticos. Sua contribuição como intelectual, perpassa o campo religioso. Ele atuou junto aos organismos internacionais voltados para a defesa dos direitos humanos e fundamentais à vida e denunciou as atrocidades do regime militar no Brasil. Para a efetivação da pesquisa foram utilizadas as seguintes fontes: documentos e imagens disponibilizados pelo projeto Brasil: Nunca Mais; jornais da época: entrevistas e matérias; decretos e leis. Os dados revelados pelas fontes indicam que a vida e obra de Jaime Wright contribuíram decisivamente para o processo de redemocratização do Brasil. This text analyzes the life and work of Jaime Nelson Wright (1927-1999), a Presbyterian pastor, a fierce opponent of the military regime in Brazil, and intellectually engaged in the struggle for the defense of human rights. He was one of the voices that most fought the military dictatorship in the Brazilian Protestant movement. Since the outbreak of the coup in 1964, he made the political and religious choice of not joining the authoritarian regime. Wright joined the student movement and dedicated himself to the religious support of the politically persecuted. His contribution as a committed intellectual goes beyond the clerical field. He was involved with international organizations dedicated to the defense of human rights and the fundamental rights to life. He also exposed the military regime's atrocities. For the realization of the research were used the following sources: documents and images made available by the Project Brazil: Never Again; newspapers of the time: interviews and stories; decrees and laws. The data revealed by the sources, indicate the life and work of Jaime Wright contributed in a decisive way to the re-democratization process in the Brazilian society.


Author(s):  
Y. S. Kudryashova

During the government of AK Party army leaders underprivileged to act as an exclusive guarantor preserving a secular regime in the country. The political balance between Secular and Islamite elites was essentially removed after Erdogan was elected Turkish President. Consistently toughening authoritarian regime of a ruling party deeply accounts for a military coup attempt and earlier periodically occurred disturbance especially among the young. The methods of a coup showed the profundity of a split and the lack of cohesion in Turkish armed forces. Erdogan made the best use of a coup attempt’s opportunities to concentrate all power in his hands and to consolidate a present regime. The mass support of the population during a coup attempt ensured opportunities for a fundamental reorganization of a political system. Revamped Constitution at most increases political powers of the President.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-78
Author(s):  
Federico Battera

This article explores the differences between two North African military regimes—Egypt and Algeria—which have been selected due to the continuity of military dominance of the political systems. Still, variations have marked their political development. In particular, the Algerian army’s approach to civilian institutions changed after a civilian president was chosen in 1999. This was not the case in Egypt after the demise of the Hosni Mubarak regime of 2011. Other important variations are to be found in the way power has been distributed among the military apparatuses themselves. In the case of Egypt, a principle of collegiality has been generally preserved within a body, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which is absent in the case of Algeria, where conflicts between military opposed factions are more likely to arise in case of crisis. How differences generally impact the stability of military rule in these two cases is the main contribution of this paper.


Ensemble ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-122
Author(s):  
Soham DasGupta ◽  

India played an active role in the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. The relation between the two countries remained cordial in the initial years but it soon soured with the coup d’etat of 1975. This also marked the rise of the anti-Indian elements in the Bangladeshi politics. This article makes a brief survey of anti- Indian elements that has remained a part and parcel of the political fabric of Bangladesh since 1971. It also looks into the ways in which the anti-India stance has been instrumental in garnering popular support to hold on to political power. The article begins with the background of the creation of Bangladesh and India’s active role in it which was followed by the friendship treaty signed between the two countries. Then it moves to the changing scenario following the coup d’état of 1975 which marked the visible changes within the polity of Bangladesh. The nature of nationalism underwent change moving from secularism to a religious character which found expression in the policies of the state. The military rule most often found it convenient to use the anti-Indian stance in order to please the fundamentalist elements of the country in its bid to garner popular support. The issues of water sharing, refugees and issues of fomenting possible insurgency with active support of India were highlighted. Even after the restoration of democracy, the anti-Indian factions remained active in opposing the government of Sheikh Hasina’s foreign policy with regard to India. Radical religious factions, who had throughout opposed the liberation war, still play a major role in fanning the anti-Indian sentiments in Bangladeshi politics.


Author(s):  
Mónica Ricketts

The final chapter discusses in parallel the political histories of Spain and Peru in the final years of imperial rule in South America. Peru did not experience a long national struggle and lacked large elites committed to independence. As in the old metropolis, a constant and violent struggle between men of letters and military officers dominated. After decades of military reform and war, army officers with experience in command and government felt entitled to rule. Old subjects and new citizens were also accustomed to seeing them lead. Men of letters, on the other hand, found limited opportunities to exercise their new authority despite their ambitions. Additionally, both in Spain and Peru, liberal men of letters failed to create a new institutional order in which the military would be subjected to civilian rule. It would take decades for both parts of the former Spanish monarchy to accomplish that goal and allow for peace.


Author(s):  
Joy K. Langston

This chapter provides a description of the political and economic crises of the mid-1990s that led to the loss of the PRI’s majority in the Chamber and the presidential defeat in 2000. Even as leaders of the authoritarian regime grappled with downward electoral trends, groups within the party began to battle among themselves over the timing and scope of the transition and of party change. The PRI adapted to the rigors of electoral competition because vote-winning groups within its ranks took over the party and defeated their internal rivals, who were less able to respond to the challenges of the ballot box. Political institutions such as federalism and the two-tiered electoral system helped define winners and losers within the party and gave the winning groups—the party’s governors and the national party officers—ways of controlling resources (candidacies and finances) that did not come into direct conflict.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
MAURO EUSTáQUIO COSTA TEIXEIRA

Este artigo trabalha com as denúncias de sequestro, tortura e cárcere privado formuladas por Inês Etienne Romeu em 1981, contra agentes dos órgãos de segurança brasileiros que a haviam capturado dez anos antes. Analisa-se, ainda, as reações das elites militares e civis contra o depoimento de Inês. Através das noções de testemunho e de esquecimento, na elaboração de Paul Ricoeur, busca-se compreender os limites do processo de transição para a democracia nos anos 1980, bem como as semelhanças e continuidades entre o regime autoritário instalado em 1964 e a chamada ”Nova República”. Palavras-chave: Transição. Tortura. Testemunho. Esquecimento.  INáŠS IS ALIVE: testimony and forgetfulness during the Brazilian transitionAbstract: This article deals with the allegations of kidnapping, torture and false imprisonment formulated by Inês Etienne Romeu in 1981, against officers of the Brazilian security agencies who had captured her ten years ago. It also analyzes the reactions of the military and civilian elites against Inês' testimony. Through the notions of  testimony andforgetfullness, as proposed by Paul Ricoeur, we seek to understand the limits of the transition to democracy in the 1980s, as well as the similarities and continuities between the authoritarian regime installed in 1964 and the so called "New Republic”.Keywords: Brazillian transition. Torture. Testimony. Forgetfullness.  INES ES VIVA: testigos y olvidos durante la transición brasileña.Resumen: Este articulo se define con la denuncias de secuestro, tortura y cárcel privado formulados por Ines Etienne Romeu en 1981, contra agentes de la seguranza brasileña que la capturaron diez años antes. Se analiza también las reacciones de las elites militares y civiles contra la declaración de Inés. A través de las nociones de testigo y de olvido, en la elaboración de Paul Ricoeur, se busca comprender los lá­mites del proceso de transición para la democracia en los años 1980, asá­ como las semejanzas y la continuidad entre el régimen autoritario instalado en 1964 y la llamada "nueva república”. Palabras clave: Transición. Tortura. Testigos. Olvidos.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 413-436
Author(s):  
David Paulo Succi Junior

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar o modo em que a bibliografia especializada busca explicar o constante emprego das Forças Armadas – instrumento de política externa – em missões de segurança pública na América do Sul. São identificados três níveis de explicação: internacional, regional e nacional. Defende-se que as análises podem ser agrupadas em duas lógicas explicativas – positivismo e o pós-positivismo –, as quais distinguem-se não apenas em termos teóricos, mas também, sob a ótica da teoria crítica, em relação às suas consequências políticas. Considera-se que a compreensão positivista do fenômeno em questão leva a uma subordinação da política à técnica, enquanto as análises pós-positivistas evidenciam o caráter político da escolha de envolver o instrumento militar em segurança pública. Palavras-chave: Forças Armadas; Segurança Pública; América do Sul.     Abstract: The current paper aims to evaluate the way in which specialized scholars seek to clarify the constant employment of South Americans Armed Forces – foreign policy instrument – in public security. Three explanatory levels are identified: international, regional and domestic. It is argued that analyses can be classified in two logics of explanation – positivism and post positivism – that are distinguished by both its theoretical specificity and its politics implications. We sustain that rationalist explanation submits politics to technique, while post positivism analyses emphasize the political nature of the decision to involve the military in public security. Key-Word: Armed Forces; Public Security; South America.     Recebido em: fevereiro/2017. Aprovado em: agosto/2017.


Author(s):  
Lee J. Alston ◽  
Marcus André Melo ◽  
Bernardo Mueller ◽  
Carlos Pereira

This chapter discusses the factors, especially changing beliefs, that led to redemocratization and the subsequent institutional changes during the years 1985–1993. After the military government, the middle class demanded more inclusion in the political arena. To a certain extent, this happened with multiple parties, and only one claiming to be a right-wing party. Unexpectedly, the franchise was given to illiterates seemingly because the belief in social inclusion warranted it; the illiterates were not in the streets clamoring for the vote. The granting of the franchise to illiterates had few short-term, but many long-run, consequences. Moreover, the business sector was less open than the political sector, with the initial maintenance of import substitution programs. Business was still in the hands of elites with lots of regulations as well as ways to avoid regulations—for a price.


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