ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of the Congress in the process of political liberalization, from the first steps taken by President Ernesto Geisel after 1974 and culminating with the election of Tancredo Neves in January 1985. One of the differences evident in the Brazilian authoritarian experience was that the military rulers chose to maintain a functioning congress throughout most of the twenty-one-year period. The national legislature has been the Achilles heel of authoritarian regimes in Brazil since Dom Pedro I dismissed the first constituent assembly in 1823. With subsequent critical regime changes, Congress was either closed outright or severely limited in its functions. The chapter aims to evaluate performance of the Congress during the critical first four months of the new Jose Sarney government. Both the manipulations of the electoral system and the abertura transition were destined to return to haunt their creators in 1983–1984.
