Compare governments today: Brazil, Cuba and Mexico

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   How Brazil is governed (cards A to D, from the 1988 Constitution of Brazil in the English translation published by the Constitute Project; summaries in our words unless in quotation marks). Card A, Article 1: "All power emanates from the people, who exercise it through elected representatives or directly, according to this Constitution." Card B, voting and the presidency: voting is compulsory for people over eighteen and optional for people who cannot read, people over seventy and people aged sixteen or seventeen. Voters elect the President directly. If no candidate wins an absolute majority of the valid votes, a second round is held between the two leading candidates. The term is four years, and a President may be reelected for a single subsequent term. Card C, Congress: the Chamber of Deputies is elected by a proportional system in each state, and no state has fewer than eight or more than seventy deputies. Brazil has 26 states and a Federal District. Each of these 27 units elects three senators by majority vote for eight-year terms, and every four years either one third or two thirds of the Senate is renewed. Card D, removal and judges: two thirds of the Chamber of Deputies must authorize charges against the President. For impeachable offenses the Federal Senate then tries the President, with the head of the Supreme Federal Tribunal presiding, and a conviction needs a two-thirds vote of the Senate. The Tribunal has eleven ministers, whom the President appoints with the approval of an absolute majority of the Senate.

2. 1.

   A student writes: "Voting is compulsory in Brazil, so every adult votes." How strong is that claim, given card B, Ari asks?

   • Strong: card B says compulsory voting covers all adults, so every adult must vote
   • Strong: a compulsory rule always gives full turnout, so no adult in Brazil ever stays home
   • Weak: card B says voting is banned for adults, so most Brazilians cannot vote at all
   • Overstated: card B makes voting optional for some groups, and a rule does not prove turnout
3. 2.

   Made-up: State X has 2 million people, State Y has 40 million, and each elects three senators (card C). About how many times as many people does a Y senator speak for, Bo asks?

   • About 2 times as many
   • About 20 times as many
   • About the same number, since each state has three senators
   • About 200 times as many
4. 3.

   Card C says one third or two thirds of the Senate is renewed every four years. What does that do to accountability, Esme asks?

   • Senators can never be reelected, so each senator serves one eight-year term only
   • Only part of the Senate faces voters at each election, so it cannot be replaced all at once
   • Voters can replace the entire Senate at every election, so all senators face voters every four years
   • The President picks the new senators whenever a third or two thirds of the seats open up
5. 4.

   Card D needs two thirds in the Chamber and two thirds in the Senate to remove a President. What does that design do, Jun asks?

   • It lets the President decide whether to be tried by the Chamber and the Senate
   • It means no President can ever be removed, however serious the offense
   • It requires wide agreement in both bodies before removal
   • It lets a bare majority of the Chamber remove a President on its own
6. 5.

   A conviction in the Senate needs two thirds of its 81 senators, as in card D. At least how many votes is that, Kira asks?

   • 41 votes
   • 55 votes
   • 27 votes
   • 54 votes
7. 6.

   Card D is from the text of a constitution. What does it show, and what does it leave out, Luz asks?

   • The rules for removal, though not how they have worked in practice
   • Who was President in 1988 and who presided over the Federal Senate
   • How often presidents have been removed since the 1988 Constitution took effect
   • What Brazilians think about removal and whether they approve of it
8. 7.

   Cards A and D both bear on who holds power. What do they show together, Milo asks?

   • Power comes from compulsory voting alone, so the people have no other way to use it
   • Power comes from the people, and elected lawmakers can start a President's removal
   • Power comes from the Supreme Federal Tribunal alone, since its ministers try each President
   • Power comes from the President, who may dismiss lawmakers whenever the people object
9. 8.

   A student writes: "Brazil's President chooses the Supreme Federal Tribunal alone." How strong is that claim, given card D, Noah asks?

   • Weak: card D says the Senate must approve the President's appointments
   • Weak: card D says the Tribunal elects itself, so the President appoints no one
   • Strong: card D says the President appoints the ministers, so no one else has a say
   • Strong: card D says the Senate may not vote on the President's appointments
10. 9.

    Which evidence would best show how often Brazil's lawmakers have used the removal process, Pia asks?

    • The text of card D alone, which sets out the whole process of removal
    • Card B, since it describes the presidency and the term of the President
    • Records of Chamber and Senate votes across the years
    • A tourist guide that summarizes the Constitution for visitors to Brazil
11. 10.

    A student writes: "In Brazil nobody can ever serve more than eight years as President." How strong is that claim, given card B, Tala asks?

    • Overstated: card B limits reelection to one subsequent term but says nothing about running after a break
    • Weak: card B says reelection is unlimited, so a President may serve for any number of terms
    • Strong: card B says four years plus four years is the most any person may ever spend as President of Brazil
    • Weak: card B says the term is five years, so two terms would be ten years rather than eight