Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world by area. The area is
8.5 million square kilometers and the population is about 210 million.
The official language of Brazil is Portuguese. Whites are 47%, mixed
43%, and blacks are 7%, and 88% are Christians (in this case, 64% are
Catholics) and 8% are non-believers.
The Constitution of Brazil
is one of the best constitutions in the world. Politicians and
constitution makers have thought about such things, which are
extraordinary.
Voter registration and voting is compulsory. A
citizen holding a constitutional office has to resign from his current
office 6 months in advance to contest in any other office. Husband or
wife, relatives of blood relation or marital relation or adoption have
been barred from participating in the election in specific cases.
The presidential election will be held in two stages. If for the first
time no one gets a majority in a direct election, the next two will
fight in the second round.
Individual business trade is open,
but Brazil is a socialist state. There are various constitutional
guarantees of social security. There will be no monopoly on media
ownership. Environmental protection will be important in education and
public awareness.
These are positive aspects. Now let's discuss the negative aspects.
There is a proverb in Bangali-majority areas, "If a drop of urine falls
in cow's milk, it will make milk unfit for consumption". According to
Article 14 of the Brazilian Constitution, any illiterate citizen is
ineligible to vote. Surprising decision! If someone is illiterate, it is
the responsibility of the Authority to educate him or her.
In addition, the so-called indigenous peoples have been given special status which is in conflict with the democratic spirit.
Admirable Articles of Brazil's Constitution
Art 3
The fundamental objectives of the Federative Republic of Brazil are:
- to build a free, just and unified society;
- to guarantee national development;
- to eradicate poverty and substandard living conditions and to reduce social and regional inequalities;
- to promote the well-being of all, without prejudice as to origin, race, sex, color, age and any other forms of discrimination.
Art 11
In firms with more than two hundred employees, election of an employee representative is assured for the exclusive purpose of promoting direct negotiations with employers.
Art 14
§1°. Voter registration and voting are:
- compulsory for persons over eighteen years of age;
§3°. Conditions for eligibility, according to the law, are the following:
- full exercise of political rights;
- voter registration;
- electoral domicile in the district;
§6°. In order to run for other offices, the President of the Republic, Governors of the State and Federal District and Prefects must resign from their respective offices at least six months prior to the election.
§7°. Spouses and relatives by blood or marriage up to the second degree or by adoption, of the President of the Republic, Governor of a State, Territory, or the Federal District, or a Prefect, or those replacing them during the six months preceding the election, are ineligible in the jurisdictional territory of the incumbent, unless they already hold elective office and are candidates for re-election.
§8°. A member of the armed forces who can register to vote is eligible under the following conditions:
I. if he has served for less than ten years, he shall be on leave from military activities;
II. if he has served for more than ten years, he shall be discharged from military duties by his superiors and, if elected, shall be automatically retired upon taking office.
§11°. A suit challenging a mandate shall be conducted in secrecy, and the plaintiff shall be liable, as provided by law, if the suit is spurious or in bad faith.
Art 19 (Part of it)
The Union, States, Federal District and Counties are forbidden to:
I. establish religions or churches, subsidize them, hinder their functioning, or maintain dependent relations or alliances with them or their representatives, with the exception of collaboration in the public interest, as provided by law;
III. create distinctions or preferences among Brazilians.
Art 20 (Part of it)
The following constitute property of the Union:
I. property presently belonging to it, as well as that which may be granted to it;
III. lakes, rivers and any watercourses on lands that it owns; interstate waters; waters that serve as borders with other countries; waters that extend into or come from a foreign territory; as well as the bordering lands and river beaches;
IV. islands in rivers and in lakes in zones bordering other countries, ocean beaches, islands in the ocean and offshore, excluding from the latter areas containing the County seats, with the exception of those areas affected by public service and the federal environmental unit, and the areas referred to in art. 26, II;
V. natural resources of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone;
VI. territorial seas;
VII. tidal lands and those added by accretion;
VIII. potential hydraulic energy sites;
IX. mineral resources, including those in the subsoil;
§1°. The States, Federal District and Counties, as well as agencies of direct administration of the Union, are assured, as provided by law, participation in the results of exploitation of petroleum or natural gas, hydraulic energy resources, and other mineral resources in their respective territories, continental shelf, territorial sea or exclusive economic zone, or financial compensation for such exploitation.
§2°. A strip with a width of up to one hundred and fifty kilometers along the territorial borders, designated as a frontier zone, is considered fundamental for defense of the national territory, and the occupation and use thereof shall be regulated by law.
Art 53 (Part of it)
The Deputies and Senators shall enjoy civil and criminal immunity for any of their opinions, words and votes.
Art 77
The President and the Vice-President of the Republic shall be elected simultaneously on the first Sunday of October for the first round, and if there should be a second round, on the last Sunday of October of the year prior to the termination of the mandate of the current president.
§1°. Election of the President of the Republic shall signify election of his running mate as Vice-President.
§2°. Once registered by a political party, the candidate who obtains an absolute majority of votes, not counting those left blank or void, shall be deemed the President-elect.
§3°. If no candidate attains an absolute majority on the first ballot, another election shall be held within twenty days after announcement of the results between the two candidates who obtained the greatest number of votes, and the one who obtains a majority of valid votes shall be deemed elected.
§4°. If, before the runoff election is held, a candidate dies, withdraws or is legally impaired, the candidate with the greatest number of votes among the remaining candidates shall be called.
§5°. In the event of the preceding paragraphs, if more than one candidate with an equal number of votes remain in second place, the older shall qualify.
Art 78
The President and the Vice-President of the Republic shall take office at a session of the National Congress, taking an oath to maintain, defend and comply with the Constitution, observe the laws, promote the well-being of the Brazilian people, and sustain the union, integrity and independence of Brazil.
Art 175
The Government is responsible for providing public utility services, either directly or under regimes of concessions or permits, always through public bidding, as provided by law.
Art 201
Social security shall be organized in the form of a general regime, characterized by contributions and mandatory affiliation, observing the criteria that preserve the financial and actuarial equilibrium, and shall provide for, as defined by law:
I. coverage of the events of illness, disability, death and advanced age;
II. maternity protection, especially for pregnant women;
III. protection for the involuntarily unemployed;
IV. family allowance and confinement aid for dependents of insured persons with low incomes;
V. a pension for the death of an insured man or woman, for the spouse or companion, and dependents, obeying the provision of § 2°.
Art 209
Education is open to private enterprise, observing the following conditions:
I. compliance with the general rules of national education;
II. authorization and evaluation of quality by the Government.
Art 220 (Part of it)
The expression of thoughts, creation, speech and information, through whatever form, process or vehicle, shall not be subject to any restrictions, observing the provisions of this Constitution.
§1°. No law shall contain any provision that may constitute an impediment to full freedom of the press, in any medium of social communication, observing the provisions of art. 5°, IV, V, X, XIII and XIV.
§2°. Any and all censorship of a political, ideological and artistic nature is forbidden.
§3°. It is the province of Federal law to:
I. regulate public entertainment and shows, and it is the responsibility of the Government to advise about their nature, the ages for which they are not recommended and the locales and times unsuitable for their exhibition;
II. establish legal measures that afford individuals and families the opportunity to defend themselves against radio and television programs or schedules that contravene the provisions of art. 221, as well as against commercials for products, practices and services that may be harmful to health and the environment.
§4°. Commercial advertising of tobacco, alcoholic beverages, pesticides, medicine and therapies shall be subject to legal restrictions, in the terms of subparagraph II of the preceding paragraph, and shall contain, whenever necessary, warnings about harms caused by their use.
§5°. The media of social communication may not, directly or indirectly, be subject to monopoly or oligopoly.
§6°. Publication of printed means of communication shall not require a license from any authority.
Art 225 (Part of it)
Everyone has the right to an ecologically balanced environment, which is a public good for the people's use and is essential for a healthy life. The Government and the community have a duty to defend and to preserve the environment for present and future generations.
§1°. To assure the effectiveness of this right, it is the responsibility of the Government to:
I. preserve and restore essential ecological processes and provide for ecological management of species and ecosystems;
II. preserve the diversity and integrity of the Country's genetic patrimony and to supervise entities dedicated to research and manipulation of genetic material;
III. define, in all units of the Federation, territorial spaces and their components that are to be specially protected, with any change or suppression permitted only through law, prohibiting any use that compromises the integrity of the characteristics that justify their protection;
IV. require, as provided by law, a prior environmental impact study, which shall be made public, for installation of works or activities that may cause significant degradation of the environment;
V. control production, commercialization and employment of techniques, methods and substances that carry a risk to life, the quality of life and the environment;
VI. promote environmental education at all levels of teaching and public awareness of the need to preserve the environment;
VII. protect the fauna and the flora, prohibiting, as provided by law, all practices that jeopardize their ecological functions, cause extinction of species or subject animals to cruelty.
§2°. Those who exploit mineral resources are obligated to restore any environmental degradation, in accordance with technical solutions required by the proper governmental agencies, as provided by law.
§3°. Conduct and activities considered harmful to the environment shall subject the violators, be they individuals or legal entities, to criminal and administrative sanctions, irrespective of the obligation to repair the damages caused.
§4°. The Brazilian Amazonian Forest, the Atlantic Forest, the Serra do Mar, the Pantanal of Mato Grosso, and the Coastal Zone are part of the national patrimony, and they shall be utilized, as provided by law, under conditions assuring preservation of the environment, including use of natural resources.
§5°. Lands necessary to protect natural ecosystems, which are vacant or which have reverted to the States through discriminatory actions, are inalienable.
§6°. Power plants with nuclear reactors shall be located as defined in federal law and may not be installed otherwise.
Art 226 (Part of it)
The family, which is the foundation of society, shall enjoy special protection from the State.
§3°. For purposes of State protection, a stable union between a man and a woman is recognized as a family unit, and the law shall facilitate conversion of such unions into marriage.
§4°. The community formed by either parent and his or her descendants is also considered a family unit.
§5°. The rights and duties of the conjugal society shall be exercised equally by men and women.
§6°. A civil marriage may be dissolved by divorce.
Art 229
Parents have a duty to assist, raise and educate their minor children, and children of age have a duty to help and support their parents in old age, need or sickness.
Facts of Brazil's Constitution
Art 14 (Part of it)
§4°. Persons that cannot register to vote and illiterates are not eligible (to vote).
CHAPTER VIII. INDIANS
Art 231
The social organization, customs, languages, creeds and traditions of Indians are recognized, as well as their original rights to the lands they traditionally occupy. The Union has the responsibility to delineate these lands and to protect and ensure respect for all their property.
§1°. Lands traditionally occupied by Indians are those on which they live on a permanent basis, those used for their productive activities, those indispensable for the preservation of environmental resources necessary for their well-being and those necessary for their physical and cultural reproduction, according to their uses, customs and traditions.
§2°. The lands traditionally occupied by Indians are destined for their permanent possession, and they shall be entitled to the exclusive usufruct of the riches of the soil, rivers and lakes existing thereon.
§3°. Utilization of water resources, including their energy potential, and prospecting and mining of mineral wealth on indigenous lands may only be done with the authorization of the National Congress, after hearing from the communities involved, which shall be assured of participation in the results of the mining, as provided by law.
§4°. The lands dealt with in this article are inalienable and nontransferable, and the statute of limitations does not run against rights thereto.
§5°. Removal of indigenous groups from their lands is prohibited except by referendum of the National Congress, in the event of a catastrophe or epidemic that places the population at risk or in the interest of national sovereignty, after deliberation of the National Congress, guaranteeing, under all circumstances, immediate return as soon as the risk ceases.
§6°. Acts aimed at the occupation, dominion and possession of the lands referred to in this article, or at exploitation of the natural wealth of the soil, rivers and lakes existing thereon, are null and void, producing no legal effects, except in the case of important public interest of the Union, according to the provisions of a complementary law; such nullity and extinction of acts shall not give rise to a right to compensation or to sue the Union, except, as provided by law, for improvements resulting from occupation in good faith.
§7°. The provisions of art. 174, §§ 3° and 4° do not apply to indigenous lands.
Art 232
Indians, their communities and their organizations have standing to sue to defend their rights and interests, with the Public Ministry intervening at all stages of the proceedings.
