Brazil

I

Transport

The railway system of Brazil consists of about 29,314 km (18,215 mi) of lines, primarily south of Bahia. The chief railway is the government-dominated Federal Railway Corporation, which operates regional rail networks. The country’s railways are used mainly to carry freight. Roads and highways, concentrated in the southern and north-eastern sections of Brazil, were estimated at about 1,724,929km (1,071,821 mi) in 2000, of which 6 per cent was paved. A national highway system of about 63,000 km (39,150 mi), connecting all parts of the country, is being developed, as is the Trans-Amazon Highway, an east-west artery linking isolated regions of Brazil and Peru. Roads provide the principal mode of transport in Brazil, and there are 170 motor vehicles per 1,000 people. Inland waterways, totalling some 43,000 km (26,720 mi) and consisting primarily of the Amazon and its tributaries, connect Brazil with other South American countries and provide important means of transport within the country. Within many areas of the Amazon Basin, waterways are the primary means of transport. About 40 harbours along the Brazilian coast serve coastal and international commerce. The principal ports are Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Paranaguá, Recife, and Vitória. Domestic airlines are extensive, and several international air-transport systems, including Brazilian-owned Varig, link the country with major world airports.

J

Communications

The government plays a major role in providing telecommunications services. More than 14 million telephones were in use in the early 1990s. Brazil also has over 2,500 radio stations and more than 250 television stations. In 1997 some 71 million radios and 58.3 million television sets were in use. The country has more than 372 daily newspapers, but most have a relatively small circulation. Major dailies include O Dia, O’Globo, and Jornal do Brazil in Rio de Janeiro; Folha de São Paulo and Notícias Populares, in São Paulo; Diário da Tarde, in Belo Horizonte; and O Fluminense, in Niterói.

V

Government

Brazil is a constitutional republic of federated states, the federal district, and territories. The present constitution was promulgated in October 1988, replacing a 1969 document. The states of the federation have their own governments, with powers in all matters not specifically reserved for the Union.

The 1988 constitution abolished the National Security Law, which had been used to stifle political dissent; outlaws torture; provides for various forms of popular plebiscites, initiatives, and referendums; forbids virtually all forms of censorship; guarantees privacy rights; and extends the right to strike to all workers. The military retains the right to intervene in the political system to preserve law and order.

A

Executive and Legislature

Under the 1969 constitution the president, indirectly chosen by an electoral college of federal and state legislators, held broad powers to rule by decree. The 1988 constitution provides for a directly elected president with circumscribed authority, serving a four-year term; an amendment of 1997 allows the president to run for re-election. In 1993 Brazilians voted to retain the presidential republic system.

The bicameral Brazilian national congress consists of a Senate (Senado Federal) of 81 members elected to eight-year terms, and a Chamber of Deputies (Câmara dos Deputados) with 513 members elected to four-year terms. The deputies are allocated among the states according to population, and each territory elects one deputy. Voting is by secret ballot and is compulsory for literate citizens over the age of 18 and under 70.

B

Political Parties

In November 1979 Congress disbanded the two existing political parties, both created in 1965. In the more liberal political climate of the 1980s more than three dozen new political parties were formed. In the early 2000s the major political parties included the Brazilian Democratic Movement (Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro; PMDB), the Liberal Front Party (Partido da Frente Liberal; PFL), and the Brazilian Progressive Party (Partido Progressista Brasileiro; PPB), and, at the other end of the political spectrum, the Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democracia Brasileiro; PSDB) and the Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores; PT).