History of Brazil (1985–present)

Since then, eight presidential terms have elapsed, without rupture to the constitutional order: The last military president, João Figueiredo signed a general amnesty into law and turned Geisel's "distension" into a gradual opening of the political system, saying he wanted "to make this country a democracy".

Union leaders, including the future three-time presidential candidate and president Luíz Inácio da Silva, were arrested for violating national security laws.

Tension with the Roman Catholic Church, the major voice for societal change, peaked in the early 1980s with the expulsion of foreign priests involved in political and land reform issues.

To attack the soaring debt, Figueiredo's administration stressed exports — food, natural resources, automobiles, arms, clothing, shoes, even electricity — and expanded petroleum exploration by foreign companies.

In 1983, the economy floundered as the gross domestic product declined by 5.0%, the impact of which was accelerated by rising inflation and the failure of political leadership.

Neves had a reputation for honesty and was able to build up an alliance between the PMDB and defectors from the PDS who founded the Liberal Front Party (PFL).

[5] Collor's agenda focused on fighting corruption from Sarney's administration and completing the transition from the 21 years of military rule to civilian government.

His first act was known as Plano Collor: all savings accounts and financial investment were frozen, and the national currency was changed from the cruzado novo to the cruzeiro (NCz$1,000 = Cr$1).

Parliamentary elections were held on October 15, 1990, and the government failed to win a reliable base in Congress and the president began to lose political support.

Some months later, with the investigation progressing and under fire, Collor went on national television to ask for the people's support, by going out on the street and protesting against coup forces.

[6] On August 26, 1992, the final congressional inquiry report was released, where it was proven that Fernando Collor had personal expenses paid for by money raised by Paulo César Farias through his influence peddling scheme.

Franco distanced himself from Collor and made arrangements for a coalition government that included the main leaders from the PMDB, PFL, and PSDB.

President Cardoso sought to establish the basis for long-term stability and growth and to reduce Brazil's extreme socioeconomic imbalances.

During his administration many state-owned companies were privatized, and agencies created for the first time to regulate many sectors of industry such as energy, oil, and aviation.

In 2002, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party (PT) won the presidency with more than 60% of the national vote.

However, the markets' confidence in the government was regained as Lula chose to maintain his predecessor's policies, meaning the continuation of Central Bank's task of keeping inflation down.

On the other hand, Lula's mainstream economic policies disappointed his most radical leftist allies, which led to a schism in the PT (Workers' Party) that resulted in the creation of PSOL.

As a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry was set up, Jefferson testified that the MPs were being paid monthly stipends to vote for government-backed legislation.

In August of the same year, after further investigation, campaign manager Duda Mendonça admitted that he had used illegal undeclared money to finance the PT electoral victory of 2002.

[10] The loss of support resulting from these scandals was outweighed by the president's popularity among voters of the lower classes, whose income per capita was increased as a consequence of higher employment, the expansion of domestic credit to consumers and government social welfare programs.

The stable and solid economic situation of the country, which Brazil had not experienced in the previous 20 years, with fast growth in production both for internal consumers and exports as well as a soft but noticeable decrease in social inequality, may also partially explain the popularity of Lula's administration even after several corruption scandals involving important politicians connected to Lula and to PT.

[11] Following Lula's second victory, his approval ratings rose again, fueled by continued of the economical and social achievements, to a record 80%, the highest for a Brazilian president since the end of the military regime.

The focus of Lula's second term was further stimulation of the economy by investments in infrastructure and measures to keep expanding domestic credit to producers, industry, commerce and consumers alike.

In 2009, Brazil's economic rise was temporarily halted by the worldwide financial crisis, forcing the government to implement a temporary tax relief policy in strategic segments of the economy like automobiles and construction.

[14] On October 31, 2010, Dilma Rousseff, also from the Worker's Party, was the first woman elected President of Brazil, with her term beginning in the January 1, 2011.

Challenges faced by Rousseff in her first term included managing infrastructure projects to increase economic activity, with special attention to the twelve cities that would host the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro, a special case as it would also hold the 2016 Summer Olympics, as well as measures to protect the Brazilian economy from the ongoing economic crises in Europe and the United States.

Despite criticism from the domestic and international press regarding lower-than-expected economic results achieved during her first term as head of the government and of the measures taken to solve it, Rouseff's approval rates reached levels higher than any other president since the end of the military regime until a wave of protests struck the country in mid 2013 reflecting dissatisfaction from the people with current transport, healthcare and education policies, among other issues affecting the popularity not only of the president, but of several other governors and mayors from key areas in the country as well.

After expending 580 days in jail, Lula was released on 8 November 2019 following the Supreme Court decision that determined defendants can't be arrested until all their appeals have been exhausted.

[24] On 28 October 2018, right wing congressman and former army captain Jair Bolsonaro was elected President of Brazil, defeating Fernando Haddad and disrupting sixteen years of continuous left-wing rule by the Worker's Party (PT).

[38][35] During the first days of presidency, the main buildings of the Three Powers Plaza in Brasília were stormed by Bolsonaro supporters, who refuse to accept his defeat, arguing the elections were fraudulent and claiming for a military intervention by the armed forces.