ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 provides an overview of Brazil’s political structure and processes of government. It explores the roots of contemporary political processes and the strengths of, and challenges facing. Brazilian democracy. Beginning with historical patterns of centralization and decentralization (e.g., regionalism), the chapter details the gradual formation of Brazil’s national government. It then moves on to consider how and why Brazilian democracy has been so fragile, accounting for the rise of an authoritarian military dictatorship in the twentieth century, and the subsequent return to democracy and struggle for rights with the 1988 constitution. The chapter concludes with a discussion of contemporary political challenges – most notably corruption – and the ways Brazilians today are articulating their citizenship rights. The chapter also focuses on the 2016 impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, and the political polarization that contributed to, and was exacerbated by, this political process.
