Deck 10: Brazil

Question 1

The 2014 Brazilian presidential election resulted in the ouster of the long-serving incumbent due to his alleged involvement in a child pornography scandal.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The election of Rousseff as president indicated that Brazil had not yet shed it praetorian instincts.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Brazil won its independence after a long and painful struggle with Portugal that lasted for nearly a decade and cost thousands of lives.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Brazil has been a colony, a monarchy, a republic, a military dictatorship, and a democracy.

Question 5

Brazil is generally considered a developed country.

Question 6

Brazil's relatively high levels of economic equality help to explain its economic success.

Question 7

Brazil has been in a downward economic spiral ever since the looting of food stores in the 1990s.

Question 8

Brazil is unique in that populism took root nearly 50 years ago, long ago instilling political power in ordinary Brazilians and stripping nearly all political power from the economic elites.

Question 9

The Catholic Church was the only major organization that maintained autonomy from Brazilian military regimes, which enabled it to eventually advocate for the poor and denounce the regime.

Question 10

Brazil has one of the smallest economies in Latin America.

Question 11

The __________ colonized Brazil.

A) British
B) French
C) Portuguese
D) Spanish

Question 12

In Brazil, economic growth produced a middle class that then called for democracy, making it a good example of __________.

A) relative deprivation
B) progress theory
C) praetorianism
D) modernization theory

Question 13

Which of the following best describes the party system in Brazil?

A) a one-party system
B) a two-party system
C) an inchoate party system
D) a nonpartisan system

Question 14

What kind of electoral system does Brazil's Chamber of Deputies use?

A) closed-list proportional representation
B) open-list proportional representation
C) winner-take-all direct elections
D) single-member, simple plurality

Question 15

Which of the following would be most likely to reduce corruption in Brazil?

A) Increase foreign aid from Brazil to other Latin American countries.
B) Bring more agencies under the control of the state.
C) Decrease privatization.
D) Cut back the state sector.

Question 16

After the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church in Brazil adopted __________ and shifted its focus to helping the poor and oppressed.

A) dependency theory
B) the theology of liberation
C) personalismo
D) praetorianism

Question 17

Brazil's economy under Portuguese colonialism was centered on __________, which led to the importing of __________.

A) gold; skilled European miners
B) oil; foreign capital
C) coffee; agricultural workers from Mexico
D) sugar; slaves

Question 18

How did Brazil become independent?

A) Napoleon conquered Portugal and declared that Brazil was "free and independent of Portuguese oppression."
B) Dissatisfied Portuguese and Indians staged a long and bloody rebellion.
C) A member of the Portuguese royal family declared Brazil's independence, and Portugal did not resist the declaration.
D) The United States used its naval forces to oust the communist government and establish a true democracy.

Question 19

Getúlio Vargas was a popular figure who came to power in Brazil with the collapse of the Old Republic. Because he claimed to be for the people but was more interested in concentrating power in himself, he can best be described as a __________.

A) liberation theologian
B) socialist
C) communist
D) populist demagogue

Question 20

Which of the following best describes former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva?

A) a member of one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in all of Latin America
B) a political opportunist bent on enriching himself at the expense of the Brazilian people
C) a charismatic populist with socialist ideas
D) a weak leader who could never win the support of other Brazilian leaders or the Brazilian people

Question 21

Getúlio Vargas's 1934 constitution incorporated __________, in which interest groups were controlled or coordinated by the government.

A) democracy
B) socialism
C) military rule
D) corporatism

Question 22

Which of the following best describes Brazil's 1988 constitution?

A) a detailed constitution that tries to ensure unrealistic economic and social rights
B) a vague constitution that allows the president inordinate flexibility to enact whatever policies the president deems appropriate
C) a conservative constitution that is mostly designed to protect the rights of the wealthy and other elites
D) a constitution that concentrates power in the Congress and gives ordinary Brazilians no meaningful way to participate

Question 23

Compared to the U.S., Brazilian states and municipalities are __________ than their U.S. counterparts.

A) more interdependent
B) less integrated
C) more independent
D) more responsible

Question 24

How is the Brazilian president selected?

A) determined through an electoral college system
B) directly elected
C) selected by Congress
D) selected by a joint session of state legislature

Question 25

Brazil's parliament is called the __________ and is __________.

A) People's Parliament; unicameral
B) National Congress; bicameral
C) Federal Assembly; unicameral
D) Congress of the People; bicameral

Question 26

Brazil's Chamber of Deputies is the __________.

A) supreme court
B) upper house
C) lower house
D) cabinet

Question 27

Brazil's Chamber of Deputies is elected through a __________ electoral system.

A) single-member district
B) first-past-the-post
C) single-transferable-vote
D) state-level proportional representation

Question 28

Which of the following most accurately describes Brazilian government?

A) an unstable democracy
B) a stable democracy
C) an unstable socialist state
D) a stable military dictatorship

Question 29

How many senators from each state serve in Brazil's upper house?

A) 2
B) 3
C) 10
D) 25

Question 30

Brazilian senators are elected through a __________ electoral system.

A) pure proportional representation
B) first past the post (FPTP)
C) single-transferable vote
D) two-round proportional representation

Question 31

Which of the following best describes Brazilian political parties?

A) cohesive
B) ecumenical
C) weak
D) strong

Question 32

Who won the 2014 Brazilian presidential election?

A) Dilma Rousseff
B) Michel Temer
C) Luiz Inácio Lula de Silva
D) Fernando Collor de Mello

Question 33

Dependency theory, long applied to Latin American countries including Brazil, has its roots in the writings of __________.

A) John Locke
B) Thomas Hobbes
C) Karl Marx
D) Samuel Huntington

Question 34

Dependency theory argues that Latin American poverty is the result of __________.

A) flaws in domestic institutions
B) corrupt rulers
C) exploitation by rich countries-especially the U.S.
D) local political culture that accepts corruption at the expense of the common good

Question 35

Despite Lula's __________, which increased welfare payments to 12 million poor, about __________ percent of the population still lives under the poverty line.

A) programas oportunidades; 10
B) Bolsa Família; 25
C) abertura; 50
D) Casa Improvo; 90

Question 36

What economic conditions have contributed to the most to Brazil's success story?

Question 37

How did Portuguese colonialism differ from Spanish colonialism? What effect did this have on Brazilian political and economic development? Did it put Brazil at an advantage in terms of economic development and democracy? Explain.

Question 38

How did populism affect Brazilian development? To what extent have these changes been positive?

Question 39

What role do political parties play in Brazilian politics? Does this bode well for the future of democracy? Explain and provide examples.

Question 40

How strong are Brazilian political institutions? Among all political institutions, which is the strongest? What does this mean for the future of Brazilian democracy?