Brazil Debates Ending Re-election for Presidents
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Brazil's Senate is discussing a proposal to end re-election for presidents. Re-election allows a sitting president to run again immediately after their first term ends.
The proposal is called a PEC, short for a plan to amend the constitution. The constitution is Brazil's main legal document, and changing it requires special approval.
The Senate's CCJ committee, which checks whether proposals follow the constitution, has already approved this PEC. That approval is an important early step before the full Senate can vote.
However, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has not signed the proposal. His decision has drawn attention because ending re-election has been promised by various politicians before.
According to the report, many of these past promises were never kept. This pattern has become known as the 'fifth-year trick,' a phrase describing how leaders often find ways to remain in power longer than expected.
The story suggests that this new PEC is being watched closely, since previous attempts to end re-election did not succeed. Flávio Bolsonaro's choice not to sign adds to doubts about whether this effort will be different.
No further details were given about why he did not sign or what happens next with the proposal.
Vocabulary7 words
- re-election
- running for the same job again right after finishing it
- PEC
- an official plan to change Brazil's constitution
- constitution
- the most important legal rules of a country
- CCJ
- a Senate committee that checks if laws follow the constitution
- committee
- a small group chosen to study or decide something
- promise
- a statement that someone will do something
- trick
- a clever way to deceive or avoid something
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Quiz
Answer key
1. End re-election for presidents 2. It approved the PEC 3. False
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Brazil's Senate is discussing a proposal to end _____ for presidents.
The proposal is called a _____, short for a plan to amend the constitution.
The constitution is Brazil's main _____ document.
The Senate's _____ committee has already approved this PEC.
That approval is an important early step before the full Senate can _____.
Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has not _____ the proposal.
Many of these past _____ were never kept.
This pattern has become known as the 'fifth-year _____.'
Discussion questions
- Why do you think re-election rules are debated so often in politics?
- Do you think politicians usually keep promises about changing laws? Why or why not?
- What might be the benefits or risks of ending re-election for presidents?
- Why might a senator choose not to sign a proposal he could support?
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