Democracy has been defined by many political theorists who have concluded that it is more than simply having elections. However, Philippe Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl went beyond the simple definition of democracy, also defining its concrete functioning. Schmitter and Karl identified three key points that make democracy functional. First, after elections representatives must not use their powers to limit or prevent the election of opposition parties, in order to have political competition for power and position. The “momentary losers” in return will respect the outcome of the elections and the winner's authority and right to make decisions regarding matters of state. Secondly, citizens should accept and respect the decisions made by representatives after elections, as long as they are open and fair. Finally, there must be cooperation and competition between civil societies and interest groups to form effective boundaries of power in a democracy. This article will use Schmitter and Karl's criteria necessary for a democracy to function in its analysis of two countries, the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Bolivarian Republic of VenezuelaThe Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is located in South America and is bordered to the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, to the east by Guyana, to the south by Brazil and bordered to the west by Colombia. The country was formed in 1830 and first discovered by Christopher Columbus during his third voyage to the New World in 1498. After 1498, the Spanish Empire began colonizing Venezuela in 1521 and founded settlements such as Valencia in 1555 and Santiago de Leon de Caracas in 1567. Early 16th century...... middle of paper ......created by Philippe Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl to have a functioning democracy. The Workers' Party has been in power since 2002 and has not sought to weaken other opposition parties to prevent them from being inclusive, quite the opposite. Under presidents Lula and now Rousseff they were elected together with a coalition of different parties and must share power to govern because their party does not have a majority in Congress. With the recent election of Dilma Rousseff, Brazil has overcome the second key point of Schmitter and Karl. Rousseff was elected with 56% of the vote and her opponent Jose Serra gave it to her and there were no riots or protests after the election. Finally, in Brazil civil societies are involved and since there are numerous neighborhood associations and trade union representatives who defend their interests.