4. Dictatorship and repression

‘Dictatorship and repression’ assesses the twenty-one-year dictatorship in Brazil from 1964 to 1985. A result of tensions in the second republic of 1945–64, the coup that created the Brazilian dictatorship occurred in 1964. The subsequent authoritarian regime in Brazil was also distinctive; in the first four years, the regime oversaw a process of conservative modernization of the economy. However, the repression of the military regime reached its peak from 1969 to 1974, when disappearances, executions, and torture took place amidst the clamp-down engendered by the passage of Institutional Act Number 5 (AI-5). The chapter then looks at the legacy of the Brazilian dictatorship.

3. The Vargas era and its legacy

‘The Vargas era and its legacy’ recounts Brazil’s 1930 revolution, which led to the formation of a new kind of state in Brazil and a new set of state–citizen relations. The political figure who dominated the period after the revolution was Getúlio Vargas. After seizing power, Vargas served as president for fifteen years, first as a head of the provisional government, then as an indirectly elected president, and finally as a dictator. Removed from power in 1945, he returned in a new guise as a developmentalist president elected in 1950. The chapter explores how the various currents of the Vargas era came together to transform the Brazilian economy, polity, and society.

2. From colony to empire to republic

‘From colony to empire to republic’ details Brazil’s unique path to statehood and nationhood. Brazil is a relatively recent creation. For more than three centuries, it was a colony of Portugal, and for the first sixty-seven years of its independent history, it was a monarchy and an empire rather than a republic. It is only in the 20th century that Brazil had all three essential components of a modern nation-state. The chapter then considers the role of indigenous groups, the Portuguese, African slaves, and other immigrants—as well as the events of the gold rush in the 1690s and the Paraguay War in the 19th century—in Brazil’s history.

7. Brazil and the multipolar world

‘Brazil and the multipolar world’ examines Brazil’s foreign policy tradition. Brazil has a strong diplomatic tradition that emphasizes moderation, the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and Brazil’s ability to seek consensus by maintaining dialogue with almost all other states. Indeed, Brazil usually positions itself in favour of moderate reform of the institutions of global governance and as a gentle critic of the inequalities and injustices of the international system. The chapter then describes Brazilian contributions to global politics in areas such as international development, the environment, security, and global health. It also looks at the rupture promoted by the Bolsonaro administration in 2019.

6. Democratic development or decay?

‘Democratic development or decay?’ studies Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva’s election as Brazil’s president in 2002, which demonstrated the resilience of Brazilian democracy. Lula’s election began a thirteen-and-a-half-year period when politicians from the Workers’ Party controlled the presidency. The contested history of these years explains much of the current polarization in Brazilian politics between a new ideological right and the left. The chapter then describes Brazil’s political system and examines the accomplishments and failures of the Workers’ Party in power. It also considers the political crisis that began in 2013 and contributed to the election of Jair Bolsonaro in 2018.

5. Rich country, poor people

‘Rich country, poor people’ explores the achievements and challenges of the Brazilian economy. Starting its colonial existence as a plantation economy, Brazil is now one of the most successful examples of 20th-century industrialization in the world. It has become an upper middle-income country that is part of the BRICS association of five major emerging economies. However, Brazil is currently caught in a low-growth trap. It is also one of the ten most unequal countries in the world. Thus, the Brazilian economy reflects a paradox: while the well-being of most people in the country has improved over the last three decades, the productive base that sustained that improvement is under threat.

1. Brazil hosts the Olympic Games

‘Brazil hosts the Olympic Games’ examines the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on 5 August 2016. This was the first time the games took place in South America. Watched live by hundreds of millions of people around the world, the four-hour ceremony reveals something about Brazil and its national experience. It provides insights into what makes Brazilians proud to be Brazilian, as well as anxieties behind those sources of pride. The themes concern the importance of nature and its preservation; the importance of the future in Brazilians’ view of the world; Brazil’s alleged vocation for peaceful inclusion; and the informality of the Brazilian way of getting things done.

8. Exuberance and diversity

‘Exuberance and diversity’ describes the Park of the City in Brasília, Brazil’s capital, which reflects the exuberance and diversity of Brazil. In the face of the innumerable challenges of the 21st century, it is useful to remember the obstacles that Brazil successfully overcame in the 20th. Brazil’s faces some interesting new challenges. Ultimately, the problems Brazil faces—inequality, poverty, violence, environmental degradation, political polarization, pandemics, and a gap between the populace and its representatives—are the world’s problems. Because Brazil occupies a pivotal position in the world, everyone should want Brazil to succeed as a nation.