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- Government of Lula:
- Presidency:
Brazil is a Federative Republic. The President of Republic is Chief of State and Chief of Government. Check out the official site of Presidency of Brazil.
Presidencial elections are by majoritarian vote. Each citizen equals one vote, the one with most votes is elected. In case none of candidates gets absolute
majority (more than 50 percent of total votes) in the first round, the first two most voted candidates go for a second ballot.
The President in office is mr. Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, elected for the period Jan.1st 2003 to Dec.31st 2006. Lula was born in poor Northeast, was abandoned by his
father, was raised by his mother along with several brothers; her mother emigrated to São Paulo, where Lula became a metal worker, then a Union leader, eventually the
leader of the Workers Party.
The vice-President is mr. Jose de Alencar Gomes da Silva. Mr. Alencar was also of humble origin, but soon became a successful entrepreneur in the textile sector
(his family is owner of Coteminas, and when elected, besides being a Senator, he was one of the richest men in Brazil. Mr. Lula and Mr. Alencar are not affiliated
to the same party (Alencar is affiliated of Partido Liberal), but they were elected by a coalition. Visit the official site of
vice-Presidency of Brazil.
- The Cabinet:
Brazilian Executive Cabinet is composed of Ministries,
Secretaries
and other agencies and offices.
Some members of cabinet must be approved by the Senate (like, e.g., directors of Central Bank and directors of the regulatory agencies), but
Ministers are at entire will of the President.
Below, some of the most important and respective subordinated bodies:
Ministry of Finances: Because Brazil has been, over the past years, going through severe fiscal restraints, the Ministry of Finances is the most powerful of all.
Federal Revenue: In charge of collecting federal taxes (internal and foreigner trade taxes)
Treasury Procurement: Represents the Treasury in courts
Treasury: All the money collected on behalf of Union go to an account administered by this Secretary
Central Bank: Subordinated to the Ministry of Finances. The board is nominated by the President, but must be approved by the Federal Senate. Directors of Central Bank
can be dismissed ad nutum of the President.
Civil Office: Coordinates the relations with the Parliament and the other ministries. All bill proposals which start at some Ministry must be approved by the Civil Office.
Education
Planning: Defines short and long term strategies. The annual budget law is initially proposed by this Ministry.
Foreigner Relations
Brazilian Embassies abroad
Brazilian Consulates abroad
Health
Labor
Justice
Federal Police
Social Security and Welfare: This ministry has been under the spotlights lately because the social security system has a growing deficit, despite of the very poor security
net provided.
Environment
Back to XX and XXI Centuries
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