Brazil

Home of Team Brazil (Stephanie; Audrey; Megan; Katrina) GEOGRAPHY


 * //Area://** Brazil occupies most of the eastern part of the South American continent and its geographic heartland, as well as various islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The only countries in the world that are larger are Russia, Canada, China, and the United States (including Alaska). The national territory extends 4,395 kilometers from north to south (5°16'20" N to 33°44'32" S latitude) and 4,319 kilometers from east to west (34°47'30" E to 73°59'32" W longitude). It spans four time zones, the westernmost of which, in Acre State, is the same as Eastern Standard Time in the United States.


 * //Cities://** The major cities are Brasilia, Fortaleza, Manaus, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Sao Paulo.


 * //Terrain://** Brazil possesses the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, located 350 kilometers northeast of its "horn," and several small islands and atolls in the Atlantic--Abrolhos, Atol das Rocas, Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo, Trindade, and Martim Vaz. In the early 1970s, Brazil claimed a territorial sea extending 362 kilometers from the country's shores, including those of the islands.


 * //Climate://** 90% of Brazil is within the tropical zone climate.

PEOPLE


 * //Population (date of census being used)://** **// over 200 million inhabitants in 2010 //**


 * //Ethnic Groups://** **// Portuguese, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Arab, African, and Indigenous people. //**


 * //Language(s)://** **// Portuguese //**


 * //Religion(s)://** **// 74% Roman Catholic //**


 * //Education://** **// Literacy 88% of adult population //**


 * //Health://** **// Infant mortality rate—23.3/1,000. Life expectancy—72.7 years in 2008 //**


 * //Work Force (occupations)://** **// 99.23 million people //**

FEATURES OF GOVERNMENT


 * // T ype://** ** Federal republic ** - a state in which the powers of the central government are restricted and in which the component parts (states, colonies, or provinces) retain a degree of self-government; ultimate sovereign power rests with the voters who chose their governmental representatives.


 * //Constitution://** Constitution, reenacted/revised on October 5, 1988, establishes presidential system with three branches--executive, legislative, and judicial. Constitution reserves to federal government all powers not specifically delegated to states.

**__ PREAMBLE __** We, the representatives of the Brazilian People, convened in the National Constituent Assembly to institute a Democratic State, for the purpose of ensuring the exercise of social and individual rights, liberty, security, well-being, development, equality and justice as supreme values of a fraternal, pluralist and unprejudiced society, founded on social harmony and committed, in the internal and international orders, to the peaceful settlement of disputes, promulgate, under the protection of God, this CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL.

The constitution has up to 250 added articles that outline: the Fundamental Principles, Individual and collective rights and duties, The Organization of State, The Organization of Powers, The Defense of the State and of the Democratic Institutions, Taxation and Budget, The Economic and Financial Order, The Social Order, General Constitutional Provisions, and the names of all Representatives.

Chief of state and head of government is president. President assisted by vice president (elected with president) and presidentially appointed and headed cabinet.
 * //Executive Power://** Federative republic with broad powers granted to federal government.


 * //Legislative Power://** The Legislative branch is made up of two Houses: Senate and the Chamber of Deputies; Both houses are known as the National Congress. The Senate (lower) and Chamber of Deputies (upper) are where the offices are located. Despite population, area, and finances, the State selects three Senators for an eight-year term. Every four-years they add new Senates and the one’s with the most votes win.


 * //Judicial Power://** Brazil’s Judicial branch is set-up as states’ and federal systems with different jurisdictions. States are separated into judicial districts, which includes one or more cities. In Brazil, the judgments in court are discussed one by one and they use jury trials for crime scenes and such. Also, they have this court of second instance called Justice Tribunal and normally second instance judgments are considered through three judges who are in the Justice Tribunal.


 * //Citizen Participation://** Immigration is a major structure for Brazil because after WWI, the Japanese community in Brazil turned out to be the biggest nonnative Japanese group in the world with almost one million immigrants.

STRENTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE GOVERNMENT Strengths: States within have some form of self-government. Voters choose their representatives. Weaknesses: Cabinet is appointed by president, not the people. Federal government has the powers that the states do not.

= WHITE PAPER (Final Report) =

I. First part should be a review of the basic function of a constitution in a democracy, including the essential characteristics of limited vs. unlimited governments II. Final recommendation for Xlandia's government with at least the following addressed: A. What type of system would your constitution establish? What is your reasoning (include what makes this better than the other options)? B. How would you protect the rights of minorities and individuals? C. What would be the relationship between the military and the civilian leadership? D. The Executive Branch E. The Legislative Branch F. The Judicial Branch G. Citizen Participation - who gets the right to vote? What would your voting requirements be? III. What is needed to keep a democracy strong? Which ones are present in Xlandia? Which ones are not? A. What advice would you give the leaders of Xlandia to help them develop these conditions as they move from an authoritarian past to a democratic future?

Megan Sommer Katrina Torres Stephanie Chen Audrey Miciano Final Recommendation

Through understanding the Constitution, the different branches of government, and the civilian say in government, we have formulated an honest opinion on the nature of Xlandia’s government and customs. Firstly, the constitution should definitely be written so that there is no dispute among citizens concerning laws. In addition, Xlandia has suffered for many years under a dictator who abused his power, we must make sure that all powers and laws are outlined clearly so that this does not happen again. Brazil has a written constitution and a similar past to Xlandia, supporting that this would be a positive choice. So, based on this information Xlandia should also have a written constitution. Xlandia’s Constitution should establish a unitary government because of the little knowledge its citizens have on the issue of democracy. Although we want to give more power to the people since they were just liberated from a dictator who gave them no power, we feel that they are not yet ready to be able to work together with their government when it comes to making decisions for the good of their country. Furthermore, Xlandia should establish a parliamentary system so that the people are not skeptical about giving complete power to a president. The citizens will be able to vote for representatives in parliament so that many people are working together because there are already some conflicts to gain power among people. There should be heavy emphasis on protecting the rights of the minorities and individuals so that the citizens trust their government, since they have not trusted their dictator in the past. Also, a Bill of Rights will help to guarantee that the civil rights of an individual or minority group will be protected by excessive government power. Groups may form political parties to ensure that everyone, including minorities, gets parliament representation. It is also crucial that other majority groups do not oppress minority groups. Moreover, the wealthy agricultural elites of Xlandia fear that a legislature controlled by the majority of the population might act against their interests, and would be unstoppable by the executive or judicial branches. Therefore, a Bill of Rights would once again outline equality among groups, being the best decision for Xlandia. The military and civilian leadership should have a close, but professional relationship. The two should work together to protect the country and its civilians, but neither group should take advantage of the other. The civilian leadership should be the one to make the call to engage the military if necessary, solely for the purpose of protecting the country. We also recommend that the citizens of Xlandia are aware of their constitution, the laws that they must abide by and also the rights that they are protected under. We need to educate the people and make sure that they know and understand what we are doing to help them set up a democracy in their country. I think the legislative branch should select the chief executive because they know whether that person is fitted for this job or if they have enough responsibility to be in this position. The most important jobs that executives have are to control fundraising, community and public relations, and also to deal with taxes. The position of an executive director is a difficult task because you take on all the responsibilities. Therefore, I believe more than one person should work together on this task. We also recommend that people who are voting for a chief executive in Xlandia to make sure they vote wisely since this person will hopefully build a community that everyone can live in. The legislature of Xlandia should be bicameral, meaning composed of two legislative bodies, because in a bicameral legislature a person would always have dissent- although this is not necessarily good when it leads to stalemate. Truthfully, nobody watches a politician as closely as his or her rivals. Another one of the advantages of bicameral legislature in the US is that it allows smaller stages to have an almost equal say as the bigger states do. Having a set number of Senate members allows smaller states to be appeased; and larger states to be content because they have more representatives. Members of the legislature should be selected using popular vote in order to fully promote a democratic concept. The use of popular vote would promote the society to become more involved in politics in order to act and have a say on what occurs in their government. There should be special guarantees towards minority participation in Xlandia. By giving these guarantees, people are more likely to feel at home and connect with someone that is similar to them. We recommend that Xlandia make specific laws benefiting their nation. Such laws could surface the need for a better-run agriculture plant in order to create a wholesome and fluid main production line. The members of the Supreme Court should be selected by vote of Congress with the representatives and senators we have chosen. This works because it is a fair system where everyone gets their input through a representative who represents their ideas. The Supreme Court should be independent because it needs judicial review to limit its powers so they don’t overpower the rest of the government. We recommend the Supreme Court judges should be picked by the states and then ranked by reviews to make sure we have the best judges possible running our country. Elections should be held every four years and should encourage voting participation, but there is no need for mandatory voting because the promotion of a democracy wouldn't require the citizens to vote. They would have to take the initiative and vote on their own, according to what they think best. In order to fully embody a democratic system, voting should voluntary and not obligatory.  In conclusion, our group would ask the leaders to give their inhabitants a job so they can earn money and support their families. Also, they should be given the opportunity to have freedom of speech so the government can understand what the community is lacking in. The leaders of Xlandia should help improve the educational system and make sure their citizens understand how democracy works so they may lead a strong democratic future, no longer under an authoritarian. In short, we have learned to create a government in the best interests of Xlandia, putting in mind important aspects power of and democracy.