Latin American Government & The War on Drugs

How does the federal-republican system of Brazil compare to the dictatorship of Cuba?

• Brazil’s leader is elected by a parliament and Cuba holds no elections at all.
• Cuba has no executive branch and Brazil has a very strong executive branch that holds all the power.
• Brazil’s leaders are generally elected by a pure popular vote while Cuba’s people have no real voting power 
• Brazil’s legislature holds far less power than Cuba’s legislature because Cuba’s legislature is appointed by a king.

Citizen participation has lessened in Cuba as a result of Fidel Castro's installation of which type of government?

• Democratic
• Autocratic
• Oligarchy
• Republic

Nearly all of Latin American governments use a presidential system of government. This means

• The president's power cannot be stopped by the judicial branch.
• An executive branch exists and has power separate from the legislature.
• A president must work closely with the parliament who chooses him or her.
• The executive branch is more powerful than the other branches of government.

The countries of Belize and Jamaica have a parliamentary system of democracy. This means

• that there is a legislative branch but no executive or judicial branches.
• the country is ruled by a coalition of parties instead of one or two parties.
• the people have no say in who gets to be the president or chief executive of the country.
• that there is no distinct separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches.

Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela each have governments which are considered federations. A federation is

• allowed to make rules and laws which are technically unconstitutional.
• governed as one single unit, with one constitutionally created legislature.
• a union of self-governing states which are joined together by a central government.
• a loose association of states that come together only for military and defensive purposes

The Mexican government functions using a democratic system, while the Cuban government functions using which type of system?

• Dictatorship
• Fascist 
• Parlimentary
• Socialist

Mexico has a president who is elected by the people. The powers of the central government are restricted and regional authorities retain a degree of self-government. Ultimate power rests with the voters who chose their governmental representatives. Which of the following terms BEST describes Mexico’s form of government today

• Federal Republic
• Military Dictatorship
• Constitutional Monarchy
• Parliamentary Democracy

Which form of government puts the power of the government in a single person?

• autocracy 
• oligarchy
• direct democracy
• representative democracy 

The central government shares the power with smaller state governments.

• Federal
• Autocratic
• Democracy
• Unitary

Brazil has a _________ government because it allows the citizens to participate.

• autocratic

• democratic

• oligarchic

• unitary