Promessa constitucional e crise democrática: o populismo autoritário na Constituição de 1988

Abstract

This thesis aims to examine which endogenous elements of the constitutional dynamic inaugurated in 1988 can explain the origins and the perform of Brazilian democratic crisis. The hypothesis is that the current process of democratic backsliding can be understood from the rising distancing of 1988 Constitution’s promise from the practices of its institutions. Failures and disbelief in the promise created a favorable environment for the development of authoritarian populism, which uses the support of occasional majorities and plebiscitary arguments to erode institutions and perpetuate in power. In this kind of process, the main instrument is resorting to constitutional amendments and informal changes. Both paths, however, are hampered by the Brazilian political system. Concurrently, the reminiscences of the authoritarian regime, especially consolidated in the “authoritarian ring” of the Armed Forces, serve as an instrument of threat and possible rupture of democracy for the incumbent authoritarian populist movement. From this framework, we seek to understand the causes, dynamics, and constitutional limits of the Brazilian democratic erosion.