The two successive presidencies of Ernesto Geisel (1974-79) and João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo (1979-84) marked the gradual and inevitable transition from dictatorship to democracy. The phenomenon, with its contradictions, became particularly evident during the mandate of Figueiredo, who implemented a series of measures aimed at liberalizing the political life of the country. Crucial in this sense were the legislative and administrative elections of 1982. The Partido Democrático Social (PDS, Social Democratic Party), the political arm of the military, won by measure, but the Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (PMDB, Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement)), which represented the moderate opposition, conquered the major cities of Brazil. According to hyperrestaurant, in 1985, after Figueiredo’s mandate expired, the presidency of the Republic passed into the hands of Tancredo Neves, lawyer and man of the opposition, candidate of the PMDB: after 21 years the chapter of the military dictatorship was closed. Neves however died a month after the election; he was succeeded by the vice president José Sarney, who immediately engaged in the arduous task of consolidating democracy and implementing a vast reform program, announced at the time by the late president. In the second half of the Eighties the main themes of political life were therefore those concerning the state structure (duration of the presidential mandate and type of republic) to be expressed in the drafting of the new Constitution (promulgated in October 1988), the recovery of the economy (and in particular the reduction of hyperinflation and debt) and the environmental issue, connected to the indiscriminate exploitation of the Amazon and brought to world attention by the murder of the ecologist Chico Mendez (December 1988). The austerity plans had failed, finding great social opposition, while the State had to suspend and then renegotiate the repayment of the large debts incurred (which in a decade went from 64 to 107 billion dollars). In this persistent state of crisis, the conservative Fernando Collor de Mello, of the National Reconstruction Party (which was created at the same time), in the 1989 elections managed to obtain the presidency of the Republic (March 1990), thus initiating a rigid economic policy. In 1992, however, overwhelmed by scandals, he was forced to return the mandate to the vice president Itamar Franco. In October 1994, Fernando Henrique Cardoso was elected president which, despite the economic stabilization program to promote development and reduce both labor costs and interest rates, was rapidly losing much of the political credit it enjoyed, plunging the country back into yet another crisis. Despite the economic uncertainty into which he had dragged the country, in June 1997 Fernando Henrique Cardóso succeeded in getting Congress to definitively approve an amendment to the Constitution, which made the presidential mandate renewable for a second term. This allowed him to reapply in the elections of October 1998, where he was reconfirmed. The government continued on the path of economic reforms, however, having to face two problems: the protest linked to the militants of the Landless Movement (MST), who demanded the acceleration of agrarian reform; and Amazon deforestation which, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Portuguese landing, saw the Indians demonstrate against the “Avanza Brasile” project approved by the government for its high impact on the environment and on the populations of the Amazon, already severely marginalized and discriminated against. The administrative elections of October 2000 saw the affirmation of the opposition Workers’ Party (PT). The surprising result of the administrative vote anticipated the much more relevant one that occurred at the presidential elections in October 2002, which saw the statement of the PT’s exponent, Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, elected in the ballot by a wide margin over his rival, the Social Democrat José Serra. Already in the first months of government, the new president faced burning problems by bringing revolutionary innovations such as the transfer of funding from armaments to the ministries of social affairs, inaugurating the project called “zero hunger” and signing the historic decree that allows the residents of the favelas to become owners of the land on which the shacks in which they reside are built. Despite the protest of the poorest sections of the population in the face of the economic maneuver of 2003, the government managed to pass a pension reform that eliminated waste and widened the audience of stakeholders. At the beginning of 2004, the PMDB (Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement), a center party that had been instrumental in approving the tax reform and pension reform in Parliament, entered the government. In June 2005, Prime Minister José Dirceu de Oliveira resigned as he was involved in a bribery scandal. In its place was appointed Dilma Roussef, former minister of energy. In November 2006, the presidential elections were held which were again won by Lula in the second round, after having managed to regain the middle class, tried by scandals, and with the decisive support of the poorer classes benefiting from his “zero hunger” program. Presidential elections took place in October 2010, won by Roussef with 56% of the votes. The country’s first female president, the newly elected defeated the Social Democrat Josè Serra in the second round. Despite some economic and social development successes, the government lost the support of a part of the population, especially in view of the major international events (2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics). In the summer of 2013, the increase in the prices of public transport, unleashed a series of mass demonstrations that denounced speculation and corruption on the great infrastructures of the World Cup. Presidential elections were held in October 2014, won by outgoing President Roussef, who defeated the conservative candidate Aécio Neves. In 2015, numerous street protests took place against President Roussef, mainly caused by the difficult economic situation. In the same year Roussef was involved in a corruption scandal linked to the oil giant Petrobas and an impeachment procedure began for the alleged violation of the law on fiscal responsibility, which ended with his dismissal, which took place in 2017. To the presidency of the country was replaced by M. Temer, also he accused of corruption a few months after taking office. Far-right candidate Jaime Bolsonaro was elected at the October 2018 election. The popularity of President J. Bolsonaro suffered a gradual decline over the course of 2019-20 due to the inability to cope with the economic crisis and the refusal to take decisive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit the country hard. (over 5 million cases and 150,000 deaths at the beginning of October 2020). Added to this are the inquiries involving members of the President’s family and his repeated statements of contempt for the democratic order.