DID YOU KNOW that VOTING IS MANDATORY IN BRAZIL? Yes, it is mandatory for all citizens between 18 and 70 years old. In addition, voting is optional for Brazilians between 16 and 18 and above 70 years old.
Brazilians may choose to vote “null” (none-of-the-above) but every election day (always on Sundays) they must cast their ballots. Otherwise, they will face problems, including not being able to get new documents or to renew existing ones.
“General elections were held in Brazil on 5 October 2014 to elect the President [ ]. Since no candidate in the presidential [ ] elections received more than 50% of the vote, a second-round runoff will be held on 26 October.” Read more at Wikipedia.
For news in English about the 2014 Brazilian elections visit The Economist
For news in Portuguese, here are two newspapers and two magazines:
For STUDENTS OF PORTUGUESE
In texts about elections, you will guess the meaning of several Portuguese words, for example:
Debate, campanha, candidato, presidente, voto, votar, eleger, eleição, congresso, constituição,
democrata, democracia, plataforma, político, popular, promessa, representar, público
Some other key words, however, are not as obvious. Check the list below:
Autoridades do governo Government officials
Cabine de votação Voting booth
Contar To count
Discurso de posse Inaugural address
Ganhar, vencer To win
Ganhador, vencedor Winner
Perder To lose
Segundo turno Second-round runoff
Tomar posse To take office
Urna Ballot box
Urna eletrônica Electronic voting machines
Votar EM (alguém) To vote FOR (someone)