Brazil, 2011–2016
Democracy · Republic · South America · The 2010s era
Brazil under Rousseff: a democracy moving from commodity-boom growth into deep recession, sweeping corruption investigations and a presidential impeachment.
Under President Dilma Rousseff, Brazil moved from commodity-boom growth into a severe recession from 2014. The sprawling Lava Jato investigations exposed corruption networks linking politicians and state-linked firms, reshaping the political landscape. Mass protests and a congressional impeachment removed the president in 2016 within a functioning, if strained, democratic order.
Dominant patterns
- Democratization
- Economic Crisis
- Revolutionary Risk
Political-science factor profile
Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).
| Centralization of Power | 42 |
| Media Control | 30 |
| Repression | 32 |
| Nationalism | 48 |
| Militarization | 30 |
| Economic Stress | 68 |
| External Conflict | 20 |
| Cult of Personality | 35 |
| Elite Fragmentation | 68 |
| Institutions | 55 |
| Social Polarization | 72 |
| Corruption & Patrimonialism | 78 |
| Ideological Mobilization | 45 |
| External Sovereignty | 90 |
Economy & society
| GDP per capita | $15k (intl-$) |
| GDP growth | -1%/yr |
| Population | 204.0M people |
| Share of world population | 2.8% |
| Urban share | 85% |
| Life expectancy | 74 years |
Closest historical twins
The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles Brazil 2011–2016, by similarity score (0–100).
- Tunisia, 2011–2019 – similarity 87/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis, Revolutionary Risk
- South Africa, 1994–2008 – similarity 85/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
- Brazil, 2019–2022 – similarity 82/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis, Revolutionary Risk
- Greece, 2009–2018 – similarity 81/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis, Revolutionary Risk
- Indonesia, 1998–2004 – similarity 78/100 · shared: Economic Crisis, Revolutionary Risk
- United States, 1865–1898 – similarity 70/100 · shared: Democratization
- France, 1715–1723 – similarity 67/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
- Brazil, 1822–1850 – similarity 67/100 · shared: Democratization, Revolutionary Risk
What followed
- A deep recession from 2014.
- The 2016 impeachment of the president.