Government and power in Brazil

Who leads Brazil, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Federal republic.

Who leads Brazil?

• Head of state: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (President of the Federative Republic of Brazil)
• Head of government: No Prime Minister
• Foreign minister: Mauro Luiz Iecker Vieira (Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Brazil

Government

• Government of Brazil
  The federal government portal for ministries, the Presidency, public services and official news.
• Presidency of the Republic (Planalto)
  Presidential agenda, speeches, statements and acts of the Presidency.

Parliament

• Chamber of Deputies
  Bills, roll-call votes, deputies' information and records of plenary and committee sessions.
• Federal Senate
  Senate bills, votes, senators' information and the Senate's legislative records.

Elections

• Superior Electoral Court
  Election results, candidate registrations, campaign finance disclosures and voter statistics.

Courts

• Supreme Federal Court
  Constitutional rulings, case-tracking, session schedules and court statistics.
• Superior Court of Justice
  Rulings, precedents and case information of the highest court for non-constitutional federal law.

Public audit

• Federal Court of Accounts
  Audits of federal spending, rulings on public accounts and the annual opinion on the President's accounts.

Access to information

• Office of the Comptroller General (CGU)
  Access-to-information appeal decisions, transparency reports, audits and integrity sanctions registers for the federal executive.

Asset declarations

• DivulgaCandContas (Superior Electoral Court)
  Candidates' declared assets, campaign accounts and registration details for each election.

Public contracts

• National Public Procurement Portal (PNCP)
  Tender notices, contracts and price records of federal, state and municipal bodies under the 2021 procurement law.

Laws and the official gazette

• Planalto Legislation Portal
  Compiled texts of the Constitution, federal laws, decrees and provisional measures.
• Official Gazette of the Union
  The federal official gazette publishing laws, decrees and administrative acts, maintained by the National Press.

Government below the national level

• States (26) + Federal District: Governor and state legislative assembly directly elected for four years
• Municipalities (5,570): Mayor (prefeito) and council (câmara de vereadores) directly elected for four years; mayors can serve two terms in a row

How local power works in Brazil

Places in Brazil

• All 27 states
• The 320 largest cities
• Official statistics for Brazil

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.