National Congress of Brazil in the context of "Monumental Axis"

Praça dos Três Poderes (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpɾasɐ dus ˈtɾe(j)s poˈdeɾis]) or Three Powers Plaza (more idiomatically Three Branches Plaza) is a plaza in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. The name is derived from the presence of the three branches of government around the plaza: the Executive, represented by the Palácio do Planalto (presidential office); the Legislative represented by the National Congress of Brazil; and the Judiciary, represented by the Supreme Federal Court.

The plaza was designed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer as a place where the three powers would meet harmoniously. It is now also a tourist attraction.

The Federal Government of Brazil (Governo Federal) is the national government of the Federative Republic of Brazil, a republic in South America divided into 26 states and a federal district. The Brazilian federal government is divided into three branches: the executive, which is headed by the President and the cabinet; the legislative, whose powers are vested by the Constitution in the National Congress; and the judiciary, whose powers are vested in nine organs, including the Supreme Federal Court and lower federal courts. The seat of the federal government is located in Brasília.

Gilberto de Mello Freyre (March 15, 1900 – July 18, 1987) was a Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian, writer, painter, journalist and congressman born in Recife. Considered one of the most important sociologists of the 20th century, his best-known work is a sociological treatise named Casa-Grande & Senzala (literally, "The main house and the slave quarters", usually translated into English as The Masters and the Slaves).

During and after the 2022 Brazilian general election, a network of members of former president Jair Bolsonaro's government and of the Brazilian Armed Forces planned to subvert the transition of power to newly elected president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, arrest Supreme Federal Court (STF) justice Alexandre de Moraes and Rodrigo Pacheco (the president of the Federal Senate), and shut down several government institutions, such as the National Congress, the Superior Electoral Court and the STF, in an attempt to keep Bolsonaro in power and consolidate his control over the federal government. The plans, evidence, and individuals involved in planning a coup d'état were gradually revealed in investigations conducted by public agencies and the press in 2023 and 2024.

After the 8 January Brasília attacks, more than 1,400 people were charged for their alleged role in the riots. Valdemar Costa Neto, head of the Liberal Party, and three aides to Bolsonaro were arrested on 8 February 2024. On 21 November 2024, the Federal Police formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 people of an attempt to overthrow Brazil's democratic institutions, including a plot to assassinate Lula, Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Moraes. On 14 December 2024, Bolsonaro's 2022 running mate and former Chief of Staff, Walter Braga Netto, was arrested. Braga Netto, who was also a former general in the Brazilian Army, was considered a prominent figure in the coup plot. On 18 February 2025, Attorney General Paulo Gonet formally indicted Bolsonaro and 34 others for an attempted coup d'état. On 26 March, the Supreme Court accepted the Attorney General's complaint and considered Bolsonaro and seven other allies as defendants in the case.

General elections were held in Brazil on 7 October 2018 to elect the president, National Congress and state governors. As no candidate in the presidential election (and for the gubernatorial election in some states) received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a runoff round was held of those offices on 28 October. On that day, right-wing outsider candidate Jair Bolsonaro defeated leftist Fernando Haddad and was elected President of Brazil.

The election occurred during a tumultuous time in Brazilian politics. Narrowly re-elected in 2014, President Dilma Rousseff of the centre-left Workers' Party (PT), which had dominated Brazilian politics since 2002, was impeached in 2016. Replacing her was her Vice President, Michel Temer of the centre-right Brazilian Democratic Movement Party. Temer, whose age of 75 at inauguration made him the oldest to ever take office, broke sharply with his predecessor's policies and amended the constitution to freeze public spending. He was extraordinarily unpopular, reaching an approval rating of 7% versus 76% in favor of his resignation. Despite mass demonstrations against his governance, including a 2017 general strike and a 2018 truck drivers' strike, Temer refused to step down and served the duration of his term in office. Due to being convicted of breaking campaign finance laws, Temer was ineligible to run in 2018.