Republic it is a government regime where the Head of State and the Head of Government are chosen through direct or indirect elections.
The Republic emerged in Ancient Greece as a form of government to administer the greek polis.
meaning of republic
The term republic comes from the Latin 'res public', public thing, the public matter and therefore, of all.
This regime of government was discussed by philosophers such as Plato and several scholars have worked to explain what characteristics the Republic should have.
Initially, the Republic would be a government regime where all citizens were called to participate and make their contribution to the common good. This would only be achieved through the development of values such as justice.
Later, with American Independence and the French Revolution, the Republic is seen as an alternative regime to the absolutist monarchy.
Types of Republic
like the monarchy, there are several ways to exercise the republican regime. Let's see:
Presidential republic
The Head of State and the Head of Government are the same person, and can be elected either indirectly or directly. In this way, the position entails an immense responsibility and to get you out of the position there is an enormous cost of time and energy.
Examples of presidential republic with direct vote: Brazil and Argentina.
Example of a presidential republic with indirect vote: United States.
Semi-Presidential Republic
In this system, the prime minister and the president coexist. Unlike parliamentary republics, here the president is the Head of State and Government and the prime minister is chosen by the president.
The prime minister acts as an announcer for the interests of his party and the president in the Legislative.
In case of crisis, the prime minister can be dismissed by Congress or by the president himself.
Examples: France, Portugal and Egypt.
Parliamentary Republic
The Head of State is the president, elected by popular vote, but has no effective powers. His role is limited to crisis cases and acts as the country's representative abroad.
In turn, the Head of Government is the prime minister who is elected during legislative elections.
Generally, the prime minister is the deputy who headed the candidate list of the most voted party in the elections.
The prime minister can be fired at any time, especially if his government is not pleasing his party coalition. Also whether the opposition gets the votes necessary to overthrow the government.
Likewise, if it is a coalition government, with several parties forming part of the Executive Branch, and one of the parties leaves this alliance, the government ends and new elections must be called.
Examples: Germany and India.
Brazilian Republic
Brazil began to adopt the republican regime on November 15, 1889, when a coup articulated by the Army and part of the coffee-growing elite deposed Emperor Dom Pedro II.
The 1891 Constitution defined the presidential republic as a form of government. Likewise, a referendum was expected to be held to consult with the population on which political regime should be implemented in Brazil. However, this consultation only took place in 1992, with the victory of the presidential republic.
It was only in the 1960s that Brazil would briefly go through an experience of a parliamentary republic. This happened to satisfy the military and the right, who wanted to prevent the inauguration of João Goulart, after the resignation of Jânio Quadros.
Republic equals Democracy?
It is very common to think that the republic is synonymous with democracy. After all, both originate from the same place, Ancient Greece.
However, democracy is not a form of government. It is a social organization, where citizens have guaranteed rights as well as duties to fulfill. Therefore, democracy can exist in both the Republic and the Monarchy.
When the American colonies were carrying out their independence process, the majority chose the republic as the governing regime in opposition to the monarchy. Thus, it became easy to associate the republic with democracy and the monarchy with oppression.
However, the republic can deprive its citizens of political rights, institute censorship and decree arbitrary arrests. If that happened, we would be facing a dictatorship.
Likewise, when the king's power is not limited by a Parliament or a Constitution, the governing regime is called a absolute monarchy.
We see, then, that the republic does not always guarantee democracy for the people.
Curiosities
- The name of the prime minister position varies from country to country. In Germany he is called Chancellor and in Spain President of Government.
- The woman was chosen to represent the republic in most countries that adopted this regime. This is due to the symbolism of motherhood and also the sense of protection that women aroused in the nineteenth century.
read more:
- greek cops
- Aristocracy
- Demagogy
- parliamentarianism
- What is Policy?
- United States Independence
