CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

History of Brazil (1985–present)

aspect of Brazilian history

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 28, 2026
Entity authorityQ2920526
Source-derived summary

Brazilian history from 1985 to the present, also known as the Sixth Brazilian Republic or New Republic, is the contemporary epoch in the history of Brazil, beginning when civilian government was restored after a 21-year-long military dictatorship established after the 1964 coup d'état. The negotiated transition to democracy reached its climax with the indirect election of Tancredo Neves by Congress. Neves belonged to the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (MDB), the former controlled opposition to the military regime. He was the first civilian president to be elected since 1964.

Neves was set to take over from general João Figueiredo, the last of the military presidents appointed by their predecessor. The transition was hailed as the dawn of a New Republic (Nova República) in contrast with Old Republic (República Velha), the first epoch of the Brazilian Republic, from 1889 until 1930. It became synonymous with the contemporary phase of the Brazilian Republic and the political institutions established in the wake of the country's re-democratization.

President-elect Tancredo Neves fell ill on the eve of his inauguration and could not attend it. His running mate, José Sarney, was inaugurated as vice president and served in Neves' stead as acting president. As Neves died without having ever taken the oath of office, Sarney then succeeded to the presidency.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “History of Brazil (1985–present)” as aspect of Brazilian history. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around History, Brazil and present.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1985, 1964, 1889, 1930—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with History, Brazil and present providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “History of Brazil (1985–present)”, the useful work is to connect “aspect of Brazilian history” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2920526. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1985, 1964, 1889 and 1930.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “History of Brazil (1985–present)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow History of Brazil (1985–present) primary sources, History of Brazil (1985–present) archive and History research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “History of Brazil (1985–present)”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from History of Brazil (1985–present)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.