Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T16:23:07.321Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Brazilian Democracy as a Late Bloomer: Reevaluating the Regime in the Cardoso-Lula Era

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Timothy J. Power
Timothy J. Power*
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This article reviews the state of Brazilian democracy at the close of the Cardoso-Lula era. Brazil has now completed a quarter century of competitive politics, the longest democratic period in the country's history. Although evaluations of the regime's prospects were often pessimistic in the 1985–1993 period, the performance of democracy improved markedly after the Plano Real stabilization plan in the mid-1990s, which was followed by significant policy achievements under presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Party of Brazilian Social Democracy, or PSDB) and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party, or PT). Since 1995, the axis of national politics has turned on the competition between the PSDB and allies versus the PT and allies. Under this emerging bicoalitional architecture, several key policy domains have been objects of consensus between the two camps, which has led to major policy advances; however, certain policy areas remain outside the zone of consensus and pose enduring challenges. Despite the improving quality of democracy, the mass public continues to display a surprisingly high level of indifference to the regime type.

Resumen

Resumen

Este artículo Estudia el Estado de la democracia brasileña al cierre de la era Cardoso-Lula. Brasil ha completado un cuarto de siglo de política competitiva, el período democrático más largo de la historia del país. Aunque las evaluaciones de las perspectivas del país eran frecuentemente pesimistas en el periodo 1985–1993, el desempeño de la democracia mejoró marcadamente tras el plan de estabilización del Plano Real a mediados de los años 1990, que fue seguido por logros políticos importantes bajo los presidentes Fernando Henrique Cardoso, del Partido de la Democracia Social Brasileña (PSDB), y Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, del Partido de los Trabajadores (PT). A partir de 1995, el eje de la política nacional ha girado en torno de la competencia entre el PSDB y sus aliados contra el PT y sus aliados. Bajo esta arquitectura emergente de dos coaliciones, varias áreas clave de la política han sido objeto de consenso entre los dos campos, lo que ha llevado a importantes avances; sin embargo, algunas áreas de la política continúan fuera de la zona de consenso y representan retos duraderos. A pesar de la mejoría en la calidad de la democracia, la masa del público continúa mostrando un sorprendente nivel de indiferencia al tipo de régimen.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 45 , Issue S1: Living in Actually Existing Democracies , 2010 , pp. 218 - 247
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Latin American Studies Association

References

Abranches, Sérgio 1988 “Presidencialismo de coalizão: O dilema institucional brasileiro.” Dados 31:5–38.Google Scholar
Almeida, Alberto Carlos 2008 “Core Values, Education, and Democracy: An Empirical Tour of DaMatta's Brazil.” In Democratic Brazil Revisited, edited by Kingstone, Peter R. and Power, Timothy J., 233–256. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amaral, Aline Diniz, Kingstone, Peter R., and Krieckhaus, Jonathan 2008 “The Limits of Economic Reform in Brazil.” In Democratic Brazil Revisited, edited by Kingstone, Peter R. and Power, Timothy J., 137–160. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ames, Barry 2001 The Deadlock of Democracy in Brazil. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amorim Neto, Octavio 2002 “Presidential Cabinets, Electoral Cycles, and Coalition Discipline in Brazil.” In Legislative Politics in Latin America, edited by Morgenstern, Scott and Nacif, Benito, 48–78. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barros, José Roberto Mendonça de, Baer, Monica, and Pio, Carlos 2003 “Brazil and the IMF: Virtues and Limits of the 2002 Agreement.” Paper prepared for delivery at the Asamblea General del Club de Madrid, Spain, November 1–2.Google Scholar
Beck, Thorsten, Crivelli, Juan Miguel, and Summerhill, William R. 2005 “State Bank Transformation in Brazil: Choices and Consequences.” Journal of Banking and Finance 29 (8–9): 2223–2257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brinks, Daniel M. 2006 “The Rule of (Non)Law: Prosecuting Police Killings in Brazil and Argentina.” In Informal Institutions and Democracy: Lessons from Latin America, edited by Helmke, Gretchen and Levitsky, Steven, 203–226. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Cason, Jeffrey, and Power, Timothy J. 2009 “Presidentialization, Pluralization, and the Rollback of Itamaraty: Explaining Change in Brazilian Foreign Policy Making in the Cardoso-Lula Era.” International Political Science Review 30 (2): 117–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheibub, José Antonio 2009 “Political Reform in Brazil: Recent Proposals, Diagnosis, and a Suggestion.” In Brazil under Lula: Economy, Politics, and Society under the Worker-President, edited by Love, Joseph and Baer, Werner, 9–25. New York: Palgrave-Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corporación Latinobarómetro 1995-2008 Encuesta Latinobarómetro (accessed at http:/www.latinobarometro.org).Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert 1971 Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
DaMatta, Roberto 1991 Carnival, Rogues, and Heroes: An Interpretation of the Brazilian Dilemma. South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Figueiredo, Argelina 2007 “Government Coalitions in Brazilian Democracy.” Brazilian Political Science Review 1 (2): 182–206.Google Scholar
Figueiredo, Argelina, and Limongi, Fernando 1999 Executivo e legislativo na nova ordem constitucional. São Paulo: Editora Fundação Getúlio Vargas.Google Scholar
Hall, Anthony 2006 “From Fume Zero to Bolsa Família: Social Policies and Poverty Alleviation under Lula” Journal of Latin American Studies 38 (3): 689–709.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hochstetler, Kathryn 2006 “Rethinking Presidentialism: Challenges and Presidential Falls in South America.” Comparative Politics 38 (4): 401–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holston, James, and Caldeira, Teresa P. R. 1999 “Democracy and Violence in Brazil.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 41 (4): 691–729.Google Scholar
Hunter, Wendy, and Power, Timothy J. 2007 “Rewarding Lula: Executive Power, Social Policy, and the Brazilian Elections of 2006.” Latin American Politics and Society 49 (1): 1–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huntington, Samuel 1991 The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.Google Scholar
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística 1990 Estatísticas históricas do Brasil: Séries económicas, demográficas e sociais de 1550 a 1988, 2nd. rev. ed. of vol. 3. Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística.Google Scholar
Linz, Juan J., and Stepan, Alfred 1996 Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Llanos, Mariana, and Marsteintredet, Leiv 2010 Presidential Breakdowns in Latin America: Causes and Outcomes of Executive Instability in Developing Democracies. London: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Loyola, Gustavo 2009 “Desafios do crédito em tempos de transição.” Presentation to SERASA-Experian, São Paulo, March 24.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott 1999 Rethinking Party Systems in the Third Wave of Democratization: The Case of Brazil. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott Melo, Ranulfo, Carlos 2004 Retirando as cadeiras do lugar: Migração partidária na Câmara dos Deputados (1985–2002). Belo Horizonte: Editora Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.Google Scholar
Melo, Marcus André 2008 “Unexpected Successes, Unanticipated Failures: Social Policy from Cardoso to Lula.” In Democratic Brazil Revisited, edited by Kingstone, Peter R. and Power, Timothy J., 161–184. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moisés, José Álvaro 1995 Os brasileiros e a democracia: Bases sócio-políticas da legitimidade brasileira. São Paulo: Editora Ática.Google Scholar
Nicolau, Jairo 2002 “A participação eleitoral no Brasil.” In A democracia e os três poderes no Brasil, edited by Vianna, Luiz Werneck, 255–296. Belo Horizonte: Editora Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.Google Scholar
O'Donnell, Guillermo 1993 “On the State, Democratization, and Some Conceptual Problems.” World Development 21 (8): 1355–1369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Donnell, Guillermo 1994 “Delegative Democracy.” Journal of Democracy 5 (1): 55–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paiva, Denise, and Bohn, Simone R. 2007 “Sistema partidário e volatilidade eleitoral no Brasil 1982–2006: Um estudo sobre a dinâmica inter-regional.” Paper presented at the Associação Nacional de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Ciências Sociais (ANPOCS), Caxambu, Minas Gerais, Brazil, October 22–26.Google Scholar
Pereira, Anthony W. 2008 “Public Security, Private Interests, and Police Reform in Brazil.” In Democratic Brazil Revisited, edited by Kingstone, Peter R. and Power, Timothy J., 185–208. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Pereira, Carlos, and Mueller, Bernardo 2004 “The Cost of Governing: Strategic Behavior of the President and Legislators in Brazil's Budgetary Process.” Comparative Political Studies 37 (7): 781–815.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal 2007 Presidential Impeachment and the New Political Instability in Latin America. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Porto, Mauro Forthcoming “The Media and Political Accountability.” In Corruption and Democracy in Brazil: The Struggle for Accountability, edited by Power, Timothy J. and Taylor, Matthew M. South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Power, Timothy J. 2002 “La confianza interpersonal brasileña en una perspectiva comparativa.” América Latina Hoy 32 (December): 91–115.Google Scholar
Power, Timothy J. 2010 “Optimism, Pessimism, and Coalitional Presidentialism: Debating the Institutional Design of Brazilian Democracy.” Bulletin of Latin American Research 29 (1): 18–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Power, Timothy J., and Zucco, César Jr. 2009 “Estimating Ideology of Brazilian Legislative Parties, 1990–2005.” Latin American Research Review 44 (1): 218–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raile, Eric D., Pereira, Carlos, and Power, Timothy J. 2011 “The Executive Toolbox: Building Legislative Support in a Multiparty Presidential Regime. Political Research Quarterly 64 (2).Google Scholar
Rodden, Jonathan A. 2003 “Federalism and Bailouts in Brazil.” In Fiscal Decentralization and the Challenge of Hard Budget Constraints, edited by Rodden, Jonathan A., Eskeland, Gunnar S., and Litvack, Jennie, 213–248. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Samuels, David 2002 “Pork Barreling Is Not Credit Claiming or Advertising: Campaign Finance and the Sources of the Personal Vote in Brazil.” Journal of Politics 64:845–863.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Samuels, David, and Abrucio, Fernando 2000 “Federalism and Democratic Transitions: The ‘New’ Politics of Governors in Brazil.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 30 (2): 43–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, Fabiano, and Vilarouca, Márcio Grijó 2008 “Political Institutions and Governability from FHC to Lula.” In Democratic Brazil Revisited, edited by Kingstone, Peter R. and Power, Timothy J., 57–80. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, Wanderley Guilherme dos 2007 Governabilidade e democracia natural. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Fundação Getúlio Vargas.Google Scholar
Soares, Fábio Veras, Soares, Sergei, Medeiros, Marcelo, and Osório, Rafael Guerreiro 2006 “Programas de transferência de renda no Brasil: Impactos sobre a desigualdade.” IPEA Texto para Discussão 1228 (October).Google Scholar
Souza, Amaury de, and Lamounier, Bolívar 2010 A classe média brasileira: Ambições, valores e projetos de sociedade. São Paulo: Editora Campus.Google Scholar
Spanakos, Anthony, and Rennó, Lucio 2006 “Elections and Economic Turbulence in Brazil: Candidates, Voters, and Investors.” Latin American Politics and Society 48 (4): 1–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Matthew M. 2008 Judging Policy: Courts and Policy Reform in Democratic Brazil. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Taylor, Matthew M. 2009 “Corruption, Accountability Reforms, and Democracy in Brazil.” In Corruption and Democracy in Latin America, edited by Blake, Charles and Morris, Steven, 150–169. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Matthew M., and Buranelli, Vinicius 2007 “Ending Up in Pizza: Accountability as a Problem of Institutional Arrangement in Brazil.” Latin American Politics and Society 49 (1): 59–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weyland, Kurt 1993 “The Rise and Fall of President Collor and Its Impact on Brazilian Democracy.” Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 35 (1): 1–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weyland, Kurt 2000 “The Brazilian State in the New Democracy.” In Democratic Brazil: Actors, Institutions, and Processes, edited by Kingstone, Peter R. and Power, Timothy J., 36–57. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Weyland, Kurt 2005 “The Growing Sustainability of Brazil's Low-Quality Democracy.” In The Third Wave of Democratization in Latin America: Advances and Setbacks, edited by Hagopian, Frances and Mainwaring, Scott, 90–120. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar