Brazilian Legislature and Political System

The Brazilian experience is a pace setter in the transition from an authoritarian regime to the establishment of stable and democratically responsible political institutions. This study is the very first of its kind on a legislature outside the United States. Moreover, it addresses important issues regarding the role of executive and congressional bureaucracies in the system of government. This in-depth report opens with a brief history of the presidential system of government in Brazil, a description of political parties, and the bureaucracy. The first chapters show how the military regime tried to reformulate the political system and how these changes affected Congress and its ability to discharge constitutional mandates. The next chapters analyze the congressional bureaucracy, its modernization of informational capabilities, and the workings of Congress in detail. The final chapters examine changes in Congress when developing new policy and when drafting a new constitution. The study closes with a discussion of the main characteristics of the new constitution and an assessment of the overall performance of Congress and the presidential system in Brazil. This inside analysis is based on decades of field work and is intended for students of comparative government, public policymaking, and Latin American studies.Baaklini, Abdo I. is the author of 'Brazilian Legislature and Political System' with ISBN 9780313284502 and ISBN 0313284504.