Brazil's 90-odd million voters chose between a republican and monarchical form of government, and a presidentialist and parliamentary political system.

       The results registered a decided popular preference for a republican form of government (66 percent to 10 for a monarchy) and a presidential system (55 percent vs. 25 for parliamentarism). Abstentions, however, reached an unprecedented 26 percent of the electorate, and null and blank ballots accounted for almost that same percentage of the number of votes actually cast.

       The referendum was mandated by the constitution of 1988 as part of the process that has, since 1985, brought Brazil back to democratic government. But the nature of the questions still being asked after eight years illustrate the difficulties Brazil has had in forging a workable democracy.

       Polls showed that nearly half the electorate had no real understanding of what was being decided, and a combination of cynicism and frustration vis-à-vis the entire political process was widespread. As such, the outcome cannot be read as a ringing endorsement of what has become, for most Brazilians, an extremely unsatisfactory status quo.

       VOTE OF CONFIDENCE

       Proper interpretation of the results and implications of the referendum requires a brief review of recent Brazilian experience and the daunting challenges that the country faces. Brazil's transition from military to civilian government was relatively peaceful and largely successful. But since then, disappointment has followed disappointment--leading to political paralysis, economic and social distress, a decline in Brazil's previous international standing, and increasing frustration and hopelessness in the nation's traditionally optimistic populace.

       In explaining Brazil's precipitous decline, much attention has been focused on the personalities involved. Tancredo Neves, the engineer of the transition, was taken ill on the eve of his inauguration and died without ever assuming office.