THE politics is the name given to the human being's ability to create guidelines with the aim of organizing his way of life. This word also refers to everything that is linked to the state, the government and the public administration with the ultimate goal of managing public assets and promoting the public good, that is, the everyone's good.
For the act of governing, a fundamental characteristic is the ability to mediate conflicts between people. Thus, the politician must conduct his management in order to mediate existing conflicts in society in order to find a way out that is good for everyone.
Emergence of policy
The emergence of politics dates back to Ancient Greece, and one of the great political articulators of that period was Aristotle, who said that politics was a mechanism whose ultimate aim was the happiness of men. A more modern definition of politics works with the idea that politics is merely the act of seeking to exercise power within a nation.
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What are public policies?
Policiespublic are the actions taken by the government. Therefore, actions, programs or decisions taken by an independent government, whether at the municipal, state or federal level, are considered public policies. These, in turn, are carried out with the aim of bringing improvements to the lives of citizens.
Public policies can be carried out in different areas of government action, such as housing, health, education, sanitation, transport, etc. In addition, they are directed to serve a specific group or to serve the general population.
Thus, if the government of a city creates a specific law for traffic or if it approves the salary increase of public servants or even determines by law that a certain group is entitled to pay 50% of the value in public transport, all these actions are political public services.
forms of government
A nation can be governed in different ways, which is why the different institutional mechanisms that are used to govern a state are called forms of government. The two forms of government currently in force in the world are the Republic and the Monarchy. A third option would be to Anarchy, which consists of the absence of a form of government or the absence of a state.
Within the forms of government are political regimes, that is, the way in which governments exercise their power. There are several political regimes, such as the democracy, O authoritarianism it's the totalitarianism.
Political parties
When we refer to politics, one of the first things that come to mind are the political parties, that is, the entities that group politicians around the same ideology and seek to launch candidates to try to elect them to different political positions that exist. The current idea we have of political parties was born in England during the Modern age.
In the 17th century, there were great transformations in England, such as the consolidation of a constitutional monarchy in the country through the glorious revolution. All this political process that England went through during this period contributed to the strengthening of the English Parliament with the action of two political groups: the whigs (liberals) and the tories (conservatives).
At the end of the 18th century, France also saw the strengthening of the political groups that emerged during the years of French Revolution: you Girondin and Jacobins. This party structure, which gradually emerged in Europe from the 17th century onwards, only gained the structure and status of a professional political entity from the 19th century onwards.
In the case of Brazil, the first political parties date back to the 19th century and the monarchic period. During this period, the performance of the BrokenLiberal It's from Conservative. Currently, the importance of political parties is so great that Brazilian legislation does not allow a person to run for political office without being properly affiliated to a political party.
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Brazilian political history
The political history of Brazil is full of remarkable events and, naturally, it has different characteristics according to the historical phase of our country.
In the case of the monarchic period, as mentioned, the political and party structure in Brazil revolved around two political parties: the Liberal and the Conservative. The two parties had slight differences in ideology, but one agenda divided Brazilian politics at that time: the federalist question. There was a great debate about the autonomy or not of the Brazilian provinces and the centralized power or not of the emperor.
Furthermore, participation in politics was limited to a very small group. An 1880 law further reduced the group of people who could participate in politics in Brazil. This was the LawHail, which decreed that the vote would become direct (previously the vote was indirect) and that they would have the right to vote the men with an income above 200 thousand réis a year who were able to sign the enlistment document military.
During the republican period, changes in our political system were taking place very gradually. With regard to the First Republic, the highlights of national policy were the Politics of the Coffee with Milk, which was the practice of alternating between the oligarchies of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, and the State policy, a network of exchange of favors. The rigged elections of that period also stood out.
At It was Vargas, important changes happened. The Electoral Code instituted in 1932 established the secret ballot, granted universal female suffrage, made the vote mandatory and created institutions that would act independently in the future to guarantee the legitimacy of the elections. held in the country.
At Fourth Republic, Brazil had its first truly democratic experience. Elections were not rigged, and the voters' approach to political parties was notorious. This democratic consolidation and political party life in our country was interrupted by the 1964 coup and for Military dictatorship, which imposed numerous restrictions on the political rights of Brazilian citizens.
After the dictatorship, the New Republic, an openly democratic period in which our political system was built around the 1988 Constitution. Brazil is currently a presidential republic, and presidential elections are held every four years with the president-elect having the right to run for a single re-election.
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History