Brazil's Corporatist Interest Groups & Government Structure

1. Interest Groups & Government Structure: BrazilPresidential Residence – Alvorado Palace

2. Corporatism: The dominant organizational style of Brazilian interest groups

3. Corporatism – • Tendency to divide society into different bodies (corpus) or corporations according to specific functions or profession. • Identity of individuals to their particular body is often times stronger than to the nation.

4. Some Consequences of Corporatism in Brazil • Military officers in particularly frequently display more loyalty to their military institutions than to government or national civilian leaders. • Tendency has also been strong among members of another important social institutions – the Catholic Church.

5. Corporatist Interest Groups: the Roman Catholic Church • Historically supportive of power structure • Base communities and Liberation theology (1970’s) • Conservative counter-offensive • National Conference of Brazilian Bishops Bacilica of Aparecida

6. Corporatist Interest Groups:the Military • Military clash with imperial power weakened the monarchy • Experience in World War II • National Security doctrine and the military government • Economic development • Internal security • Geopolitical supremacy in South America • End of special relationship with USA • Constitution of 1988 – more conventional role • Arms Industry

7. Other Interest Groups: more or less Corporatist • Unions • Originally tied to the Ministry of Labor • Lula and the São Paulo steel workers • Agrarian Arena • Traditional authoritarianism of landed elite • Movement of Landless Rural Workers attempt to change the rural power structure

8. The Private Sector • Less prominant in the 1988 constitution than other interst groupings • Federative Association of São Paulo Industrialists (FIAP) • Multinational corporations • U.S. Based • European based • Japanese based • China based

9. African - Brazilians appear as political actors in a social movement 1932 Frente Negra Sao Paulo • Frente Negra Brazileira (1931 • First explicitly political African-Brazilian organization • Opposed immigrants on the grounds that they foreigners • Gétulio Vargas demoblized the FNB after he imposed O Estado Novo

10. Teatro Experimental do Negro (post- 1946) • Elitist mobilization • Early identification of masses in Carnival groups • Laid basis for African-Brazilians as a political interest group

11. Myth of Racial Democracy - Reality of Mechanism of Control? • Classic thesis of Gilberto Freyre (1933) • “There is no color bar to advancement, there is no social bar to advancement” • Persistence of stereotypes • Carnival in the 1990’s • Shifting sands metaphor • “Whitening” policy

12. Myth of Racial Democracy – Economic Realities • Black males – wages 40% lower than white males • Black females – wages 75% lower than those of white males

13. Military Rule and the Political Status of African Brazilians • Afro-Brazilian movement of the 1970’s born around cultural – as opposed to political issues • Salvador as the geopolitical focus of African-Brazilian mobilization • “Black Soul” phenomenon – focus on music • Instituto de Pesquisa das Cultural Negras (Rio de Janeiro)

14. African-Brazilians and the Post 1988 Democracy • Exercise of leadership at local level but few African-Brazilian leaders at state and national level • New generation of African-Brazilian leaders continues to have mixed feelings toward the Brazilian state • Brazilian political culture still tends not to recognize political organizational focus other than class • International influences

15. Evolving Styles of Interest Articulation Esplanade of the National Ministries • Linkages to bureaucracy remain important • Elections increase the political weight of mass-based interest groups • Style remains more participatory than representative

16. Brazilian state: 1988 Constitution • Three levels of government • Federal (national) • Regional (state) • Local (municipio)

17. Federal Government • Imperial power centered in Rio (1823 – 1889) • Federal power weak between fall of empire (1889) and advent of O Estado Novo (1937) • Centralization at Brasilia under the military regime (1964-85) • Federal government currently receives roughly 75% of total governmental revenue

18. Robust Federalism • 1988 constitution: continues over-representation of small states • Half of tax revenue returned to states with no mandates as to how money will be spent • Assists in maintaining clientilism at local level • Congressmen tasked with “bringing home the bacon” • Gov. Itamar Franco’s (Minas Gerias) challenges to the national executive ) • Courts established the supremacy of federal government in matters of contracting foreign debt

20. Institutions and Structures of Government: Presidency • Dilma Rousseff • President is both the head of state and the head of government. • President and vice president are elected jointly for four-year terms. • Military regime broadly amplified the powers of the executive branch.

21. National Government Institutions of the 1988 (current) Republic • Patterned on U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers • President elected directly by people • Second round if no candidate receives majority on first round • Bicameral Congress • Chamber of Deputies (513 members) • Senate: Three members from each state and the Federal District (81 members) • Supreme Court (power of judicial review) • Federalism

22. The Presidency: relations with the Congress • Formal powers among the most sweeping in Latin America • Veto legislation (wholly or in part) • Can initiate legislation – including public spending • Can force congress to take up legislation deemed urgent • Multi-party system forces president to build coalitions

24. Legislative Power • Bicameral (balanced) • Senate (81) • Three from each state • Three from Federal District • Chamber of Depties (513) • Minimum of 8 – Maximum of 70 • Overrepresentation of the Northeast • Senators • Elections are held every four years alternatively for one third and two-thirds of the Senate. • Deputies can initiate legislation

26. Judicial Power • Composition • Supreme Court, • Superior Court, • five regional federal appeals courts, • labor courts, • electoral courts, • military courts • and state courts. • Constitution stipulates criteria for • Entry into judicial service = competitive exam • Promotion = by seniority and merit • Mandatory retirement = age of 70 or after 30 years of service

27. Courts in OperationFernando Collor • Seniority and merit in selection • Capability to limit governmental authority • Judicial review evolving • End state of siege • Try president for wrongdoing • Not yet tested • Collor resigned before going to trial

28. State Government • Federal District (Brasilia) • Twenty-six states • elected governors • unicameral state legislatures • receive 21.5% of total revenue – much from Federal government

29. Municipio Governments • Municipalities (preifecturas) similar to counties in the United States • Elected Prefects (mayors) and vice mayors • Local councils • 5513 local municipalities • 22.5% of revenue goes to the municipios

30. Institutions and Structures of Government: Limitations on Government Authority: The Constitution • Extends the traditional guarantees of individual rights to social groups • Prohibits discrimination against minorities • Grants parties, unions, and civic associations legal recourse against the actions of other social actors and permits them to challenge before the Supreme Court the constitutionality of legislation and administrative rulings. • Presidential limits when invoking a state of siege • Judicial review • Ministerio Publico (Public Prosecution) • Tribunal de Contas

31. Legitimacy of the 1988 Constitutional Regime • Strengthened by transfer of power from government of center-right (Cardoso) to the left (Lula) • Election of Dilma marks hegemony of center-left • Economic growth leading to increased wealth • Success in upward international mobility • Highly unequal distribution of wealth remains a challenge to the legitimacy of current regime