Brazil established a constitutional monarchy in 1822 after being a colonial possession of Portugal since the early 16th century. By 1889 Brazil transitioned to a constitutional democracy when Brazil’s First Republic (1889-1930) was established following a military coup.¹ The Brazilian republic’s constitution gained inspirations from that of the United States, guaranteeing "the rights of liberty, personal safety, and property…”² The cultivation of coffee in Sao Paulo and milk in Minas Gerais guided much of the political decisions made by the new government.³ Coffee was the most important commodity, constituting around sixty percent of all Brazilian exports.⁴

The 1921 presidential election was tainted by a fake letter that insulted the military. The letter was attributed to presidential candidate Artur Bernardes. After Bernardes won the election, some of the military’s middle ranked officers, mostly lieutenants and captains, revolted against the government.⁵ Their revolt was short lived, but it paved the way for a successful coup in 1930.⁶ A split between several of the states and the national government occurred during the election of 1929. This split helped form bonds between young politicians and military leaders. When the federal government refused to help, coffee farmers initiated a full-scale revolt.⁷ The Brazil's First Republic was overthrown and a new government, led by Getulio Vargas, took control.⁸

Vargas held his position as president for fifteen years.⁹ Vargas centralized government power in November of 1930, free elections still took place and the Electoral Code was reformed.¹⁰ However, political turmoil soon captured the country. On November 10, 1937, Vargas had the military police surround Congress, barring anyone from entering. This was the first step in creating the Vargas dictatorship, known as Estado Novo, or “New State."¹¹ The Estado Novo used a number of violent tactics, including torture, to force dissenting politicians into exile.¹²

When World War II (1939-1945) broke out in Europe, Vargas was still dictator of Brazil. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor he allied with the United States. Members of Forca Expdicionaria Brasileira, or the FEB, fought in Italy during the final months of the war. Brazil lost 454 troops in the conflict.¹³ Vargas succumbed to pressure after the war and declared free elections for the presidency in December of 1945.¹⁴ Before the elections were held, however, military forces ousted Vargas in October of 1945.¹⁵

The general elections remained set for December. The winner of those elections was the former Minister of War, General Dutra.¹⁶ In September of 1946, a new constitution was written defining Brazil as a federal republic.¹⁷ During this time, the communist party was outlawed.¹⁸ Though ousted from his dictatorship, Vargas did not stay out of politics long. He again ran for president in the 1950 election, winning with 48.7 percent of the vote.¹⁹ Vargas was inaugurated in January of 1951.²⁰ His government struggled with massive inflation, as well as unrest among the working class.²¹ These pressures built up until opposition forces decided to take action in order to oust Vargas a second time. The opposition set up the assassination of well-known opposition statesmen using a member of the Presidential Guard as the scapegoat. The assassination attempt failed, and an air force major with the statesmen at the time was killed. This caused major outrage among the military forces who then moved to have Vargas ousted. Vargas, facing opposition from all sides, opted to kill himself in August 1954 rather than be removed a second time.²²

A new election was held after Varga’s death. Juscelino Kubitschek won the presidency. He was inaugurated in January 1955.²³ He remained president until 1960 when Janio Quadros was elected. Quadros did not last long in office though. He resigned amid a coup scandal in August of 1961.²⁴ His vice-president Joao Goulart was set to take the position of president per the law of succession in Brazil’s constitution. On a trip to China, Quadros resigned and was blocked from entering the country by the military, who believed Goulart was a communist. This led to a crisis and confrontation between pro- and anti-Goulart forces. However, congress came up with a solution by changing Brazil’s government into a parliamentary democracy. This appeased both sides, and Goulart was allowed in the country.²⁵ The presidential system returned in January of 1963.²⁶ During Goulart’s administration communists held high positions in his government. Fearing this influence the military once again tried to oust the president. The same year the government reverted back to a presidential system and Goulart was removed from office. The military remained in power instead of holding another election.²⁷

The military junta, a council of generals, agreed to run the country for a set period.²⁸ Using Institutional Acts to repress both congress and other politicians, the military maintained tight control over the country.²⁹ Torture, arrests, and general persecution were used to keep the regime’s enemies in line.³⁰ However, the new government could not keep all dissenters quiet. During the late 1960s, many people took to the street in both peaceful and armed protest. By 1975, most of these protests dissipated.³¹

In January of 1974, General Ernesto Geisel was elected president. He began a process of liberalization that continued with successive presidents.³² By 1985, a coalition of opposition parties elected a presidential candidate.³³ A new constitution came into effect on October 5, 1988.³⁴ This constitution created the democratic government administering the country today. Though Brazil suffered many ups and downs in its path to a democratic state, in the end it was able to form a representative government that has flourished in the modern world.³⁵