News from the Empire of Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Six months after the end of the civil war that ravaged Brazil for 15 months, a referendum will be held on 31 October, a Sunday. The referendum was an item in the signed peace deal by Empress Ana Sofia and the leader of the communist faction. The peace deal stated the following:
"The pure will of the Brazilian people will manifest in six to twelve months. Such a desire will be translated in the form of a referendum that will decide both the form of government and the system of government. The Constitution shall not be replaced but rather adapted to the chosen form and system of government."
Five months later, in September 2021, preparation for the referendum began. The government, organizations, and political parties organized an extensive advertisement campaign of the referendum, asking people to take part in the process. The same month, the Commission of the Referendums analyzed and then selected various forms of government that will be an option in the referendum. Currently, Brazil is a constitutional monarchy where the monarch IS NOT a figurehead. The monarch of Brazil is one of the most powerful constitutional monarchs in the world.
There are five choices in the referendum. People can opt for keeping the constitutional monarchy or change the government. The other choices are:
- Absolute monarchy
- Presidential republic
- Parliamentary republic
- Semi-presidential republic
Constitutional Monarchy (Current) - Keep the current state and government without any further reforms. This means the prime minister and the empress will have the same powers they have today. It is the status quo option. Many supporters of this form of government defend the idea that Brazil has done well as a monarchical state for 200 years, and changing it would only bring instability and corruption.
Absolute Monarchy - Abolish the parliament and give full powers to the empress. There was a faction in the civil war that advocated for an absolutist government, but they were defeated. The absolutists also oppose the constitution. Supporters of absolutism claim that the parliament serves the interest of politicians and parties, not the nation, and giving all powers to the monarch would serve the nation better.
Presidential Republic - Abolish the monarchy and form a federal presidential republic modeled after the United States, where the president is both the head of state and the head of government. The current prime minister would be the president, but elections would be held every four years, starting in 2025. The electoral system would be party-list proportional representation, with a bicameral parliament. The current constitution would be adapted to presidential standards.
Parliamentary Republic - Abolish the monarchy and form a federal parliamentary republic. The current prime minister would still be the prime minister and elections would be held every four years, starting in 2025. Supporters of this form of government insist that there is no point in sustaining a royal family, but Presidentialism gives too much power to the executive, providing an environment suitable for the ascension of dictators.
Semi-presidential Republic - Abolish the monarchy and form a federal semi-presidential republic. The current prime minister would be the president. The system applied would be a president-parliamentary system, when the prime minister and cabinet are dually accountable to the president and the parliament. The president chooses the prime minister and the cabinet, but it must have support from the parliament. The president can dismiss the cabinet or the parliament can remove them by a vote of no confidence, but the president can dissolve the parliament.
Despite enthusiasm from the population, it is unknown if the government will recognize the referendum's result. A coalition of five parties part of the opposition threatened to take action if the result is not accepted by the monarchy, but it is unlikely the referendum will end in conflict.
The Empire of Brazil invites all nations to give their opinions on the referendum, especially nations that underwent similar changes.
