Portal:Politics/Selected article/2008, week 11



The President of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The presidential system was established in 1889, upon the proclamation of the republic in a military coup d'etât against the Emperor Pedro II. Since then, Brazil had six constitutions, two dictatorships and three democratic periods. During these democratic periods, voting has always been compulsory.

The current president is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers' Party), elected in 2002 for the 2003–2006 term, re-elected for the 2007–2011 term. He received the most votes of any president in Brazil until then, receiving 56.7 million votes. In the 2006 presidential elections held on October 1, 2006, he received 58.2 million votes.