Democracy and dictatorship are two types of government regimes. These regimes have opposite characteristics: in democracy, decision-making power belongs to the people, and in dictatorship, decisions are imposed by authoritarian government.
In democracy, power belongs to the people because decisions come from them, through their democratically elected representatives. Democracy was defined by US President Abraham Lincoln as the "government of the people, by the people, for the people".
In the dictatorship, in contrast to what happens in democracy, government decisions are imposed and the will of the people is not taken into account by the government.
What is a democracy?
In a democracy, citizens have the right to equal participation in the decisions of the State, that is, people actively participate in the country's political decisions.
The form of popular participation depends on the type of democracy adopted, but it always exists in democratic systems of government.
Popular demonstration for the return of democracy in Brazil
Types of Democracy
There are three main types of democracy: direct, representative and participatory.
- direct democracy: in direct democracy, citizens participate directly in state decisions. An example of this is the participation in popular consultations, such as referendums and plebiscites.
- representative democracy: in representative democracy the will of the people is expressed through its representatives who are elected by direct vote in elections.
- participatory democracy: it is also called semi-direct democracy, because it has characteristics of direct and indirect democracy. Representatives are elected by direct vote and citizens also participate in political decisions through popular consultation initiatives.
In a democratic regime, government administrative decisions and responsibilities are not concentrated in a single person or group. Responsibilities are divided between the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary.
O Executive power it is responsible for the administration of the State, for the execution and compliance with laws and government plans, in addition to looking after the public interests.
The heads of the Executive are: the President of the Republic, the state governors and the mayors of the municipalities.
O Legislative power is responsible for legislating. The task includes proposing, discussing and voting on laws and other regulations.
At the federal level, the Legislature is represented by the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, in the states by the Legislative Assemblies and in the municipalities by the Chambers of Councilors.
O Judicial power Its function is to administer justice and ensure that the laws are correctly enforced in the country.
It is also the role of the Judiciary to protect the Federal Constitution and ensure that the rights provided for therein are guaranteed, applied and not violated.
How did democracy come about?
The concept of democracy, although different from what is known today, emerged in Ancient Greece. Greek democracy emerged in the assemblies, which were the places where the political decisions of the time took place.
It was in the assemblies that political decisions concerning the functioning of the Greek city-states were taken. In these assemblies the right to participation of the people in decisions and in political discussions.
Democracy in Brazil
Democracy in Brazil is marked by some important events. At the end of the period of the military dictatorship (1964-1985) the "Diretas Já" movement fought for a return of the direct elections in the country, which took place in 1989 with the direct election for president of the Republic.
After the end of the dictatorship, the promulgation of the Federal Constitution of 1988 is another important milestone in the history of democracy in the country.
The Constitution became known as the "Citizen Constitution" precisely because it guarantees rights that are essential for democracy, such as the protection of fundamental rights, the promotion of more social equality, the right to vote for all citizens and the freedom of expression.
Meet 5 important moments in the struggle for democracy.
What are the biggest democracies in the world?
Brazil is ranked 49th in the list of world democracies. According to the magazine's Democracy Index The Economist at 10 biggest democracies in the world they are:
- Norway
- Iceland
- Sweden
- New Zealand
- Denmark
- Ireland
- Canada
- Australia
- Finland
- Switzerland
For a country to be considered a great democracy, the following items are evaluated:
- the electoral processes adopted;
- respect for citizens' rights and civil liberties;
- political participation of the population;
- level of political culture in the country;
- functioning of the government.
What is a dictatorship?
In the dictatorship, unlike what happens in democratic government regimes, all the powers and decisions of a state are centralized in the hands of a person or a group of people.
The most striking feature of a dictatorship is precisely the absence of democratic principles, which makes democracy and dictatorship as opposites, that is, the dictatorship is a regime undemocratic.
A dictatorial government is an illegitimate government and almost always violent in character. It is illegitimate because the way to come to power is usually through a coup d'état, when power is taken from the legitimate government through the use of force and undemocratic means.
Dictatorship in Brazil
Military dictatorship
The dictatorship can also be military. In this case, the dictatorial government is controlled by a group of military personnel who usually come to power by a coup d'etat.
Brazil lived a period of military dictatorship for 21 years (from 1964 to 1985) and the return of democracy in the country was a process that lasted a few years.
After the end of the dictatorship Tancredo Neves was elected president, but still using the indirect vote system, that is, without the participation of the population. The first direct election for the post of President of the Republic after the dictatorship took place in 1989.
See also the meanings of Dictatorship and Military dictatorship and meet 5 characteristics of military dictatorships.
The dictatorship nowadays
There are countries that still live in regimes that are considered dictatorships or with dictatorial characteristics. Of these countries, some are classified as democracies, but due to the practices adopted by their governments, they can be considered dictators.
In most of these countries people do not have the right to participate in elections and freedom of expression is tightly controlled.
Meet some countries that still live in regimes with dictatorship characteristics:
- Angola: the country has gone through a long civil war in recent years and the population is often violently repressed by the government,
- Cuba: Cuba's official regime is communism, but freedom of expression and press are tightly controlled in the country,
- China: the country is classified as a People's Republic, but the Chinese government adopts authoritarian and censorship practices and frequently disregards human rights,
- North Korea: the government is considered very repressive and violent and the population does not have many fundamental rights respected,
- Will: the country often violates human rights, restricts press freedom and violently represses popular demonstrations,
- Oman: it is a very old dictatorship and in this country there is not even a Constitution that protects the rights of citizens,
- Zimbabwe: the country has been governed by the same president for over 30 years and at various times violent practices were adopted against the population, in addition to human rights violations.
Best known dictators in the world
Many dictator rulers were known for the violent and oppressive characteristics of their governments. Meet some of them:
- adolf hitler: he commanded the Nazi dictatorship in Germany, his government persecuted and killed many Jews and violently oppressed opponents of the regime,
- Augusto Pinochet: it was a Chilean dictator who took power after a military coup, in his government many civilians were murdered and human rights were frequently violated,
- Antonio Salazar: the Portuguese dictator took power after a military coup, in his government the freedom of expression and press and the individual rights of citizens were violated,
- Benito Mussolini: the Italian dictator commanded a fascist government that persecuted opponents of the government, controlled the media and disregarded constitutional protections,
- Francisco Franco: the Spanish dictator was responsible for a government that violated human rights and carried out persecutions and executions,
- Joseph Stalin: was dictator in the former Soviet Union and his regime became known as Stalinism. In his government there was no opposition party and there was censorship and persecution,
- Mao Tse-Tung: the Chinese dictator is considered one of the most violent in the world, under his government more than 70 million people were persecuted and killed,
- Saddam Hussein: he was a dictator in Iraq, during his government there were many persecutions and deaths, mainly against the Kurdish people and against opponents of his government.
Main differences between democracy and dictatorship
| Democracy | Dictatorship | |
|---|---|---|
| Elections | direct | indirect |
| state | it's democratic | It's authoritarian, undemocratic |
| Power | Divided between Executive, Legislative and Judiciary | Focused on one person or a group |
| rights | are respected and protected | can be canceled |
| popular demonstrations | Are allowed, it is a constitutional right | are prohibited and repressed |
| Censorship | Does not exist | Exist |
Citizen participation in decisions |
Exist | Does not exist |
know more about Democracy, representative democracy, participatory democracy and Direct democracy.