Brazil

Brazil is a federal presidential republic — South America's largest democracy, with a directly elected President, a bicameral National Congress, and a fragmented multi-party system. The President serves a fixed 4-year term with a 2-term limit per character. Brazil's open-list proportional representation produces a highly fragmented legislature where coalition-building is essential despite the presidential system.

Government Structure

The President is both head of state and head of government — directly elected for a fixed 4-year term. There is no parliamentary confidence vote. A 2-term limit per character applies, and a second-term run blocks running-mate selection (the VP cannot be changed on a re-election bid).

The National Congress is bicameral and both chambers participate in the player legislative loop — bills require passage in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate.

National Congress

Brazil's legislature has two chambers:

• Chamber of Deputies — 513 Federal Deputies elected by open-list proportional representation from 27 multi-member constituencies (the 26 states plus the Federal District). 4-year terms. All seats are contested each cycle. The Chamber is the primary legislative body and the source of the coalition threshold.
• Federal Senate — 81 senators (3 per state plus 3 for the Federal District), serving 8-year staggered terms. One-third and two-thirds of seats alternate per cycle (2 classes). The Senate reviews legislation from the Chamber and can amend or reject bills.

Coalition Threshold

The coalition threshold is 257 seats (a bare majority of the 513-seat Chamber of Deputies: 513 / 2 + 1). A party or coalition holding 257+ seats controls the Chamber.

Unlike parliamentary systems, the threshold does not determine who governs — the President is directly elected and serves a fixed term regardless of legislative composition. Instead, the 257-seat threshold matters for legislative agenda control: which party chairs committees, drives floor votes, and can override a presidential veto (a 2/3 supermajority in both chambers).

Brazil's open-list PR system produces extreme party fragmentation — no single party has won an outright Chamber majority in modern history. Governing coalitions typically span 5–10 parties. The two major parties are PT (Workers' Party, centre-left) and PL (Liberal Party, centre-right), but dozens of smaller parties hold decisive swing votes.

How Brazilian Elections Work

Brazil uses two different electoral systems for its two chambers:

Chamber of Deputies — Open-List PR (D'Hondt)

Federal Deputies are elected by open-list proportional representation using the D'Hondt divisor method. Each of the 27 multi-member constituencies (states + Federal District) elects a block of deputies proportional to the state's population. Voters cast a vote for an individual candidate, and seats are allocated to parties by vote share, then ordered by individual candidate vote totals within each party list.

• All 513 seats are contested each 4-year cycle.
• No 5% threshold — Brazil has no formal vote-share threshold to enter the Chamber, unlike Germany's Sperrklausel. Fragmentation is the natural outcome.
• Primaries advance the top 3 candidates per party per region.

Federal Senate — FPTP Staggered

Senators are elected by First Past the Post (FPTP) from statewide constituencies — 3 senators per state, one or two contested per cycle on alternating 8-year classes.

• Partial seats contested — only one class of Senate seats is up per cycle (2 classes).
• Single-member constituencies for each contested seat.
• No snap elections — the Senate cannot be dissolved.

Presidential Elections

The President is directly elected by nationwide popular vote (no electoral college). A 2-term limit per character applies. A character who has served two full terms cannot run again. A second-term run blocks VP running-mate selection — the incumbent VP is locked onto the ticket.

Brazil has no parliamentary confidence vote. The President serves the full 4-year term regardless of congressional composition. Divided government is the default — one party holds the presidency while a rival coalition controls one or both chambers of Congress. Bills require passage in both chambers and presidential signature. The President can veto legislation; Congress can override with a 2/3 supermajority.

Key Brazilian Mechanics

Two-term presidential limit. A character cannot serve more than two terms as President. The limit is per-character, not per-party. A second-term run locks the VP running mate — the incumbent VP cannot be swapped.

Bicameral legislative loop. Both the Chamber and the Senate are player-contestable. Bills must pass both chambers to enact. There is no upper-chamber override asymmetry — both chambers have equal legislative weight.

Fragmented legislature. Open-list PR with no threshold produces 20+ parties in the Chamber. Coalition management is the central strategic challenge — even a unified presidential party needs allied blocs to pass legislation.

Staggered Senate. Only one class of Senate seats is up per cycle (2 classes, 8-year terms). Plan your Senate run for the correct class in your home state.

No snap elections. Both chambers have fixed terms. The President cannot dissolve Congress. No-confidence votes do not exist — the President serves the full term.

Party creation routes through a charter. Founding a new party requires drafting a Party Charter co-signed by 3 human founders. Brazil requires 3 states + locked home = 4 states × 2 NPPs = 8 NPPs spawned on creation.

Social axis baseline 0. Brazil starts at the center of the −5…+5 social axis. Drifts toward the social stance of enacted national laws over time.

Career Path for Brazilian Players

Brazil has no sub-national legislature. The first rung of national play is a Federal Deputy seat, contested via open-list PR in your home state.

Currency and Economy

Economic Model

Brazil's seed economic model shifts by start-date era:

A 2019-start Brazil begins as a resourceExtraction economy — commodity exports (soybeans, iron ore, oil, meat) dominate. A 1991-start Brazil begins as agrarian and transitions over time through play.

Key Brazil Links

• Election Mechanics — Primary and general election rules
• Multi-Country Play — PR vs FPTP, cross-border investments
• Core Systems — Turn structure, action economy
• Player Progression — Career ladder details
• Campaign Strategy — Fundraising, ads, canvassing

Living history

The timeline below is written by the turn processor whenever a presidential transition or national-scope bill enactment happens in-game. Each entry is a real event from this save.