US vs. Brazil Elections

I am not the only one who has noticed the perfection of Brazil's election system. Hundreds of international observers were sent throughout the country to learn from Brazil's example and is often cited as one of the top voting systems in the world. But right now it is the the people of the US who are voting. Well, ok, only some people in the US are voting - the US does not require its citizens to vote. This means that likely voters are the people who can afford to leave work. I know employers have to allow employees time off to vote, but it is unpaid time off, and there are a lot of people out there who just can't afford that. Others just don't have the time between work, school, and hobbies. Wouldn't it be nice if we could vote on a day when many of us already rest, like maybe a weekend? And then there is all of the messy aftermath of elections - we all remember the 2000, and even the 2004, presidential election fiasco...

Dilma Rousseff Beats Jose Serra in Brazil Elections

Brazil has perfected the art of elections. Firstly, voting is mandatory. If you don't vote, you can receive a fine and can be prohibited from obtaining a passport and sometimes even a license. Why is it important for everyone to vote? Right now I am following the US elections online and all I am reading about is last minute drives to get people out to vote. This wastes time, resources, and energy that could be better used by focusing on the candidates and the issues - not making sure more Republicans show up than Democrats. This is also important because in the past, groups (and individuals) have invested in campaigns to keep the opposition from voting. We will never have a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people, until the US making voting a requirement.

And what is up with the Electoral College system in the US? It's archaic! Why don't we follow Brazil's lead and requite a 50% plus 1 majority win. This way there is never another occurrence of the guy who American's prefer (Gore won the popular vote, remember) loosing to the guy Congress prefers (Bush won the Electoral College count). Unlike the US, Brazil has many different political parties, although the current favorites are the Worker's Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores, PT) and the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira, PSDB). The recent election saw the unexpected showing of Green Party supporters and no candidate scored enough votes to win the majority. In this predicament the top two candidates have a run-off.

The beauty of this system is that if, for example, say there is a Republican, an Independent, and a Democrat running a race in Florida. The Independent candidate will siphon off votes from the Democrat candidate, giving Republicans a much easier road to victory. This leads to political jostling behind the scenes, invites corruption, and discourages voters.

In Brazil this very situation occurred in the recent presidential elections. Like I said, the Green Party candidate siphoned off a good chunk of votes from outgoing President Lula's Worker's Party. The run-off took place this past Sunday, nearly a month after the first election turn. This allowed the voters the opportunity to signal their approval of some Green Party policies without fear of causing another similar party a major loss. This also gave voters time to watch multiple televised debates between the two front-running candidates and get to know the candidates and their policies a little better. In the end Dilma Rousseff (better known simply as "Dilma", the hand-selected successor of current, and extremely popular, outgoing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known popularly as Lula).

Another thing - why do we hold elections on a Tuesday? A Tuesday? When everybody works, goes to school, picks up kids, runs errands, makes dinner, cleans the house.... Brazil holds their elections on Sunday. Families eat breakfast or lunch and go vote together. Many people vote before or after church while they are already out. Since school is not in session on Sundays, schools turn into easily accessible polling stations - solving the problem in the US of finding suitable polling locations. Lines are nearly non-existent and voting locations, even in poorer areas, and the voting machines are simple, easy to use, and reliable (no more hanging chads).

Oh and in Brazil they vote with numbers, which is why, in the photo above, Dilma's name has a 13 next to it. That is her number. When you arrive to the machine you type in her number and her name, photo, and details  pop up on the screen. If this is who you want to vote for you press the accept button and cast your vote. This didn't make sense to me at first, but now that it has been explained to me a few times, I am coming around to the idea.

Brazil vs. US Elections, an Outsider's Perspective

I am always amused when I read news about the US from a non-US news source. This article is from Jamaica and compares the election scenes of the US and Brazil. It also summarizes the US economic and social situation from and outside perspective.

About the elections:

Elections this year in Brazil and the USA provide a study in sharp contrasts. Brazil approaches elections with enormous zeal, boosted this year by the outstanding international economic situation of their country... By contrast, the economic situation of the USA is probably the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s. With the unemployment rate hovering at 9.6 per cent and approximately 15 million individuals out of work, the national mood is most dour. Normally when there is so much unhappiness about in the land the electorate tends to punish the party in power.

About punishing the party in power (Democrats):

Democrats who hold majorities in both houses of the Congress fear the worst, although the present economic problems arose largely under the previous Republican administration of George Bush who, between 2000 and 2008, managed to eliminate the substantial budget surplus built up by Bill Clinton. Not only that: Bush reduced taxes, mostly benefiting the rich, and started two extremely expensive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without introducing any measures for underwriting them. At present both wars cost American taxpayers more than US$100 billion each year.

About the candidates:

The interesting ethnic background and solid intellectual achievements of the three leading Brazilian presidential candidates would probably be severe handicaps in the United States.

About the US electorate:

The US electorate, especially adherents to the Tea Party, demonstrate a marked lack of political sophistication. There is a general hankering for the good old days of Ronald Reagan, despite his disastrous economic policies. Many are attacking government at all levels while expecting government to solve their basic problems.

On the new world order:

It will take many years for the economy of the USA to recover. Of that every thinking person is certain. The imagined good old days will never return. The world has changed and the new economic powerhouses are Brazil, Russia, India and China. Brazil represents the future; the USA, the past.

Interesting stuff, eh? And basically true.

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