RECAP Describe the structure of the Brazilian Government (4)

About the recent elections, turnout and results What am I learning?

ELECTIONS IN BRAZIL Brazil has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which often no one party has a chance of gaining power alone, and so must work with each other to form coalition governments.

VOTING Brazil was the first country in the world to have fully electronic elections. The chief goal of the Brazilian voting machine is its extreme simplicity, attempting to be as straightforward as a public phone booth. VOTING

2002 Election Results The 2002 Presidential election is widely regarded as the most significant in Brazil’s short democratic history.

Lula was elected President in He is the leader of the Workers’ Party (PT). Lula gained 46.5% of the votes in the first round of voting. This was the highest out of all the candidates. However, it was not a majority. Jose Serra came second in the first round of voting, gaining 23% of the vote. He is from the Brazilian Social Democrat Party. In turn, Lula and Serra were the two candidates in the second round of voting. Lula gained 61% of the votes and Serra 39%. In 2002, the total turnout was close to 80% - the highest ever recorded.

2006 Election Results 1st Round: October 1st 2nd Round: October 29th Round 1 Lula = 48.6% Alckmin = 41.6% Others = 9.8% Round 2 Lula = 61% Alckmin = 39% Turnout = 83%

The Results The Workers Party did not gain an overall majority. This means that they gained fewer seats than all the other parties combined. As a result the Workers Party would have found it difficult to pass laws in Parliament. A minority government or coalition? Lula chose a coalition.

WHY DID LULA WIN? SOCIAL POLICIES Successful anti- poverty programme that channels small cash payments to 11m families. Wider access to education ECONOMIC POLICIES Low inflation Low unemployment Big increases in the minimum wage Why did Lula win?