Middle Class In The Democratization Process Of Brazil

The relationship between the middle class and the democracy is always a hot issue for researchers. But there are a few articles on the relationship between the middle class and the democratization. Brazil is a big country with great influence in Latin America. Its way to democratization is not smooth. From 19^th century to 21^st century, Brazilian democratization has several noticeable transformations. What kind of role did the middle class play in the long process of democratization? Did they play the same role in every stage of the process? Why did they do so? The issue of this paper is about these questions. There are four sections in this paper.The first section is to illustrate the definition. The focus is on the definition of democracy, democratization, middle class and the relationship between the middle class and the democratization. This section also studies on the differences between the old middle class and the new middle class.The second section divides the process of democratization into three stages. And there is an analysis on the role of middle class of Brazil in three different stages. There are different problems about the democratization. And the middle class plays deferent roles in the three stages.The third section focus on the consolidation of the democratic systems in Brazil and the role that the middle class plays in that process.The fourth section will study on the current issue of the middle class. And it will focus on the problems that the democratic system of Brazil faces. At the last, it will point out how does the middle class influences the current and the upcoming development of Brazilian democracy.From the above four parts which I have discussed, I eventually have this conclusion: for the special social structure of Brazil, the middle class not only bear the responsibility of the democratic process, but also take up the role of the "balancer" during the democratization process in Brazil. Between the extreme left and the extreme right, the middle class has retained the democratic fire of Brazil.