Brazil was discovered in 1500 by the Portuguese navigator, Pedro Alvares Cabral, and remained a Portuguese colony for over 300 years. Subsequently, in 1964 following political, economic and social unrest, a new administration was established by the military and considerable economic growth was achieved for the next 20 years. Democracy was restored in 1985 and a new constitution was enacted by Brazil's National Congress in 1988, which upheld the presidential system while simultaneously decentralising political power.