H-Town Tejas
03-04-2007, 00:17
República Federativa do Brasil
Federative Republic of Brasil
Form of government: Federal republic
Presidente (Head of State/Government): Luísa Ailin SONG (União Revolucionária Socialista)-since 1 January 1998
Vice-Presidente: Miguel Jesús Pires LEÃO (União Revolucionária Socialista)-1/1/2003 to Present
Current ruling party: União Revolucionária Socialista (Revolutionary Socialist Union), under Frente de Esquerda (Front of the Left)
History: Before the first Portuguese explorers, led by Pedro Álvares Cabral, arrived in 1500, Brazil is thought to have been inhabited by semi-nomadic populations for at least 10,000 years. Over the next three centuries, it was resettled by the Portuguese and exploited mainly for brazil wood (Pau-Brasil), then sugarcane (Cana-de-Açúcar), coffee beans and gold mining. The colony's manpower was initially composed of enslaved peoples, firstly Amerindians and then, after 1532, mainly Africans.
The only recorded transcontinental relocation of a royal family occurred in 1808 when the Portuguese royal family, headed by Queen Maria I of Portugal and her son and regent, the future João VI of Portugal, fled Napoleon's armies and relocated to Rio de Janeiro, along with the government and nobility. Although they returned in 1821, the interlude led to the opening of commercial ports to the United Kingdom — at the time isolated from most European ports by Napoleon — and to the elevation of Brazil to the status of a United Kingdom under the Portuguese Crown. Upon João VI's departure, the remaining royal government in Rio moved to dissolve the Kingdom of Brazil and return it to the status of colony. This resulted in the small scale conflicts known as the Brazilian War of Independence. On 7 September 1822 Prince regent Dom Pedro I (later Pedro IV of Portugal) declared independence, establishing the independent Empire of Brazil. A treaty recognizing the Empire's independence was signed on 29 August 1825 with Britain and Portugal. As the crown remained in the hands of the House of Bragança, this was more the severance of the Portuguese empire in two, than an independence movement as seen elsewhere in the Americas.
The Brazilian Empire was formally a democracy in the British style, although in practice, the emperor-premier-parliament balance of power more closely resembled the autocratic Austrian Empire. Slavery was abolished in 1888, through the "Golden Law", created by Princess Isabel, and intensive European immigration created the basis for industrialization. Pedro I was succeeded by his son, Pedro II — who in old age was caught by a political dispute between the Army and the Cabinet, a crisis arising from the Paraguay War. Pedro II was deposed from the throne on 15 November 1889, when a federal republic (officially, the Republic of the United States of Brazil) was established by Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Brazil attracted over 5 million European, Arab and Japanese immigrants. During this time Brazil became industrialized, further colonized, and its interior further explored and developed. Brazilian democracy was replaced by dictatorships three times — 1930–1934 and 1937–1945 under Getúlio Vargas, and 1964–1985, under a succession of generals appointed by the military. It is important to note that the military forces responsible for the coup of 1964 had the "cooperation" of the U.S. Government. Lincoln Gordon (American Ambassador to Brazil) reported that the "pro-United States" rebellion would help to "restrain left-wing excesses" and "create a greatly improved climate for private investment."
When João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo, it was expected that the military dictatorship would end, however, this was not to be the case. On 1 April 1985, hardline military leader João Adolfo Gonçalves Alves overthrew the government yet again in yet another military coup. Lieutenant General Alves, who later promoted himself to Field Marshal, proved to be the harshest military leader in Brasilian history. He formed an all-consuming personality cult and became notorious for recruiting young children into his paramilitaries and secret police. During this period, Alves's neo-fascist Partido Nacional was the sole legal party in the country, no questions asked.
It was at this time that anti-government resistance experienced a resurgence. To lead the revolutionary efforts was Diogo Sadiq Pires, a democratic socialist dissident who had been hiding out on the state line between Estado Pará and Estado Roraima. Pires, a native of São Paulo, led the União Revolucionária Socialista, which was based in the poorer North and Northeast regions. Pires enjoyed immense popularity there, and he was well-liked in other poor areas of Brasil outside of there, such as the favelas that had sprung up around Brasil's largest cities. However, Alves managed to keep power for a whole nine years, all while a civil war was going on. The effectiveness of his troops was reduced by desertions (it was estimated that 1/3 of the Armed Forces had defected to the URS by the end of the war) and Alves's own massive corruption. The regime fell on 13 May 1994, when the URS entered Brasília, and Alves was executed with a barrage of BM-21 rockets.
Pires began to reform Brasil into a democratic socialist state, and the people enjoyed unprecedented political and civil freedoms. A military revolt in July of 1994 did nothing to curb democracy, and Pires and a URS-dominated legislature were elected that December. However, it was clear that the military was divided about him; in 1997, Colonel Aloísio Silva Pellegrino overthrew him in a military coup. The Vice-Presidente, 'Abdul-Qayum Sadr, was killed by rebel soldiers, and when Pires was put back in power by loyalists, his views on democracy were clearly changed. Alagoas Senator Luísa Ailin Song, who was considered by many to be one of the most authoritarian thinkers in the URS, was appointed Vice-Presidente, to replace Sadr. Matched by this was Pires's slowly but surely tightening grip on the country. This caused dissent among Brasilians, and on New Year's Day of 1998, during a New Year's Day parade in Brasília, Pires was shot in the head. However, if the assassin was an idealistic supporter of democracy, he got exactly what he wasn't trying to achieve.
Song, at age 26, became Presidente of Brasil. She was three firsts; being a half-black, half-Chinese woman, she became the youngest, first woman, first Afro-Brasilian, and first Asian to hold the office of Presidente. However, she also instituted many dictatorial reforms over the country. A combination of said dictatorial reforms and immense charisma allowed for her election in 1998, her reelection in 2002, and her reelection again in 2006. Electoral boycotts have caused every legislative seat of the Câmara dos Deputados and almost every seat in the Senado Federal to go to supporters of the URS. While technically, she is only allowed to run for Presidente one more time (due to her own extension of term limits to four terms), it is hardly likely she will be stepping out of office any time soon...
Federative Republic of Brasil
Form of government: Federal republic
Presidente (Head of State/Government): Luísa Ailin SONG (União Revolucionária Socialista)-since 1 January 1998
Vice-Presidente: Miguel Jesús Pires LEÃO (União Revolucionária Socialista)-1/1/2003 to Present
Current ruling party: União Revolucionária Socialista (Revolutionary Socialist Union), under Frente de Esquerda (Front of the Left)
History: Before the first Portuguese explorers, led by Pedro Álvares Cabral, arrived in 1500, Brazil is thought to have been inhabited by semi-nomadic populations for at least 10,000 years. Over the next three centuries, it was resettled by the Portuguese and exploited mainly for brazil wood (Pau-Brasil), then sugarcane (Cana-de-Açúcar), coffee beans and gold mining. The colony's manpower was initially composed of enslaved peoples, firstly Amerindians and then, after 1532, mainly Africans.
The only recorded transcontinental relocation of a royal family occurred in 1808 when the Portuguese royal family, headed by Queen Maria I of Portugal and her son and regent, the future João VI of Portugal, fled Napoleon's armies and relocated to Rio de Janeiro, along with the government and nobility. Although they returned in 1821, the interlude led to the opening of commercial ports to the United Kingdom — at the time isolated from most European ports by Napoleon — and to the elevation of Brazil to the status of a United Kingdom under the Portuguese Crown. Upon João VI's departure, the remaining royal government in Rio moved to dissolve the Kingdom of Brazil and return it to the status of colony. This resulted in the small scale conflicts known as the Brazilian War of Independence. On 7 September 1822 Prince regent Dom Pedro I (later Pedro IV of Portugal) declared independence, establishing the independent Empire of Brazil. A treaty recognizing the Empire's independence was signed on 29 August 1825 with Britain and Portugal. As the crown remained in the hands of the House of Bragança, this was more the severance of the Portuguese empire in two, than an independence movement as seen elsewhere in the Americas.
The Brazilian Empire was formally a democracy in the British style, although in practice, the emperor-premier-parliament balance of power more closely resembled the autocratic Austrian Empire. Slavery was abolished in 1888, through the "Golden Law", created by Princess Isabel, and intensive European immigration created the basis for industrialization. Pedro I was succeeded by his son, Pedro II — who in old age was caught by a political dispute between the Army and the Cabinet, a crisis arising from the Paraguay War. Pedro II was deposed from the throne on 15 November 1889, when a federal republic (officially, the Republic of the United States of Brazil) was established by Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Brazil attracted over 5 million European, Arab and Japanese immigrants. During this time Brazil became industrialized, further colonized, and its interior further explored and developed. Brazilian democracy was replaced by dictatorships three times — 1930–1934 and 1937–1945 under Getúlio Vargas, and 1964–1985, under a succession of generals appointed by the military. It is important to note that the military forces responsible for the coup of 1964 had the "cooperation" of the U.S. Government. Lincoln Gordon (American Ambassador to Brazil) reported that the "pro-United States" rebellion would help to "restrain left-wing excesses" and "create a greatly improved climate for private investment."
When João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo, it was expected that the military dictatorship would end, however, this was not to be the case. On 1 April 1985, hardline military leader João Adolfo Gonçalves Alves overthrew the government yet again in yet another military coup. Lieutenant General Alves, who later promoted himself to Field Marshal, proved to be the harshest military leader in Brasilian history. He formed an all-consuming personality cult and became notorious for recruiting young children into his paramilitaries and secret police. During this period, Alves's neo-fascist Partido Nacional was the sole legal party in the country, no questions asked.
It was at this time that anti-government resistance experienced a resurgence. To lead the revolutionary efforts was Diogo Sadiq Pires, a democratic socialist dissident who had been hiding out on the state line between Estado Pará and Estado Roraima. Pires, a native of São Paulo, led the União Revolucionária Socialista, which was based in the poorer North and Northeast regions. Pires enjoyed immense popularity there, and he was well-liked in other poor areas of Brasil outside of there, such as the favelas that had sprung up around Brasil's largest cities. However, Alves managed to keep power for a whole nine years, all while a civil war was going on. The effectiveness of his troops was reduced by desertions (it was estimated that 1/3 of the Armed Forces had defected to the URS by the end of the war) and Alves's own massive corruption. The regime fell on 13 May 1994, when the URS entered Brasília, and Alves was executed with a barrage of BM-21 rockets.
Pires began to reform Brasil into a democratic socialist state, and the people enjoyed unprecedented political and civil freedoms. A military revolt in July of 1994 did nothing to curb democracy, and Pires and a URS-dominated legislature were elected that December. However, it was clear that the military was divided about him; in 1997, Colonel Aloísio Silva Pellegrino overthrew him in a military coup. The Vice-Presidente, 'Abdul-Qayum Sadr, was killed by rebel soldiers, and when Pires was put back in power by loyalists, his views on democracy were clearly changed. Alagoas Senator Luísa Ailin Song, who was considered by many to be one of the most authoritarian thinkers in the URS, was appointed Vice-Presidente, to replace Sadr. Matched by this was Pires's slowly but surely tightening grip on the country. This caused dissent among Brasilians, and on New Year's Day of 1998, during a New Year's Day parade in Brasília, Pires was shot in the head. However, if the assassin was an idealistic supporter of democracy, he got exactly what he wasn't trying to achieve.
Song, at age 26, became Presidente of Brasil. She was three firsts; being a half-black, half-Chinese woman, she became the youngest, first woman, first Afro-Brasilian, and first Asian to hold the office of Presidente. However, she also instituted many dictatorial reforms over the country. A combination of said dictatorial reforms and immense charisma allowed for her election in 1998, her reelection in 2002, and her reelection again in 2006. Electoral boycotts have caused every legislative seat of the Câmara dos Deputados and almost every seat in the Senado Federal to go to supporters of the URS. While technically, she is only allowed to run for Presidente one more time (due to her own extension of term limits to four terms), it is hardly likely she will be stepping out of office any time soon...