Is semi-presidentialism the solution to Brazil’s political problems?

Manaus (AM) – The political system adopted in Brazil is presidentialism. In it, the figure of the president carries functions of head of state and head of government. However, since last year, deputies of the Federal Chamber have raised the discussion of changes to another form of government with the objective of altering the relations between the Executive and Legislative powers. This alternative has historically been adopted by other countries, however, specialists and politicians heard by Em Tempo call for caution on the subject, and claim that the model is not the key to solving the political crisis in the country.

The agenda on the semi-presidential system stood out again, after former President Michel Temer (MDB) stated, on February 3, during an event in Lisbon, that Brazil should consider the hybrid model between presidentialism and parliamentaryism.

“It is important to talk about the importance of semi-presidentialism, which exists here in Portugal. That’s what we need in Brazil. Gilmar is a big fan of this idea. It is important, then, to talk about the importance of political reform in Brazil”,

said the former president.

Temer also defended that semi-predentialism could be a way to solve political problems in Brazil: “Impediment has become fashionable, it is always an institutional trauma. I went through that, you know”, said the former president when recalling the two requests for impeachment proceedings against him.

Since redemocratization, the country has already gone through two processes of impeachment of Chief Executives: in 1992, with the removal and resignation of Fernando Collor, and in 2014 with the impediment of the second term of Dilma Rousseff. In total, since the Fernando Henrique Cardoso (FHC) government, there have been about 318 requests for impeachments, 158 of which in the Bolsonaro administration alone.

In this sense, in March 2022, a Working Group (GT) was installed in the Federal Chamber with the objective of discussing the implementation of semi-presidentialism in the country. Parliamentarians who defend the system claim that it would be an alternative to reduce tensions between the powers.

At the time, on May 3, 2022, still a candidate for re-election, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) criticized the attempt to boost the agenda headed by Mayor Arthur Lira (PP). According to Lula, the proposal would be a maneuver to reduce the power of the President of the Republic.

“He already wants to take power away from the president so that power remains in the Chamber of Deputies and he acts as if he were the emperor of Japan,” said Lula.

semi-presidential system

The semi-presidential system was adopted by countries such as Portugal, Palestine, Russia and Mozambique. In general, it works with the fusion of the parliamentary and presidential model (current system in Brazil).

In other words, as in parliamentarism, there are two figures in a semi-presidential government: the president (head of state) and the prime minister (head of government). This form of government is also similar to presidentialism, because unlike parliamentarism, the president does not only have decorative functions, but complementary with the prime minister. In addition, the president is chosen by popular vote.

According to political scientist Carlos Santiago, the discussion about the implementation of semi-presidentialism in Brazil rekindled by former president Michel Temer is unnecessary, and only serves to create even more political conflict.

This is because the country is already going through a troubled period, which reached its peak with the coup episode on January 8, when supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) invaded the headquarters of the Three Powers in Brasília. In addition, it also faces an economic crisis with low growth and job creation.

With the implementation of semi-presidentialism in the country, Carlos Santiago assesses that it would cause, consequently, the weakening of the President of the Republic and the strengthening of parliament.

“Semi-presidentialism would remove the power of the President of the Republic to conduct and plan public policies, placing the execution and formulation of public policies in parliament”,

he said.

To Em Tempo, Carlos Santiago pointed out that the political problem in Brazil has nothing to do with the figure of the president, but with the lack of transparency, and the lack of ethics in the Brazilian parliament.

“Delivering the Brazilian parliament to conduct the country’s public policies and giving too much strength to the Brazilian parliament seems somewhat absurd and very unnecessary at this time when the country needs to unite and a president who conducts public policies. Brazil needs more harmony and less conflict. A debate about no presence there in this one does not contribute anything”,

explained.

For federal deputy Amom Mandel (Cidadania), the semi-presidential system is not the best way to solve Brazil’s problems, and he stressed that the country’s difficulties lie in the effective execution of the current political system.

“Semi-presidentialism is the system adopted in Russia. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to realize that, at least there, it hasn’t been very healthy for democracy. The same occurs in other countries that follow the model in Africa. I don’t agree that this is the solution to Brazil’s problems and I think that Brazil’s current political system has been exceptionally well designed. The problem, in fact, is that it is not strictly followed”,

highlighted Amom Mandel to Em Tempo.

For senator Plinio Valério, the discussion has to go beyond semi-presidentialism and must pass through parliamentarism. In this system, the president is the head of state chosen by parliament, and has more ceremonial functions. It also governs the prime minister, who has the role of actually executing public policy.

“I remember that a few years ago, at the time of the plebiscite, I was in favor of presidentialism. Today, I’m already changing my mind. Of course we need to mature, but it is in this discussion that we would mature. The time has come to discuss this,” she pointed out.

Semi-presidentialism in Brazil?

The reduction of power of the President of the Republic has occurred in several democratic countries since the 19th century. According to the political scientist Helso Ribeiro, the parliament was gaining more and more space. In Brazil, however, there is still a centralization in the figure of the president by the population.

“If you ask who the President of the Republic is, everyone will say that he is Lula. But, if you ask who is the president of the Senate, I don’t know if they will guess that it is Rodrigo Pacheco. Increasingly, there will be this attempt to reduce and reduce the powers of the President of the Republic, which are many. This power will be divided, and a large part will go to the Legislature”,

stated.

Around the world, about 50 countries have adopted the presidential system, according to monitoring by the University of Oxford. When designing this system in Brazil, the article “Semi-presidentialism: a serious proposal”, by José Eduardo Faria, points out which characteristics sustain the model in the countries that adopted it.

One of these aspects is the promotion of an administrative machine “against political apparatus”. In this sense, according to the author, Brazil still faces “difficulties in overcoming the different forms of clientelism, populism and cartorialism”.

“Therefore, if the proposal of semi-presidentialism is to be taken seriously, its proponents have to go beyond the analysis of the French and Portuguese experience. In European countries with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system, what sustains them is the efficiency of an administrative machine conducted by a qualified professional bureaucracy and protected against political rigging, ”he said.

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