Constitution of Brazil explained

Document Name:Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil
System:Federal presidential constitutional republic
Federalism:Federation
Chambers:Bicameral: Chamber of Deputies and Federal Senate
Branches:Three (executive, legislature, judiciary)
Executive:President of the Republic
Jurisdiction:Federative Republic of Brazil
Courts:Supreme Federal Court
Electoral College:No
Signers:Constituent Assembly
Orig Lang Code:pt
Title Orig:Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil
Supersedes:1967 Constitution of Brazil

The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil) is the supreme law of Brazil. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the federal government of Brazil. It replaced the autocratic 1967 constitution capping 21 years of military dictatorship and establishing Brazil's 6th republic, also known as the New Republic (Nova República). Made in the light of the Brazilian transition to democracy, it resignified the role of the state in the citizens' lives, providing a vast system of human and individual rights protection, social welfare, and democratic tools.

Overview

The 1988 Brazilian Constitution is the seventh enacted since the country's independence in 1822, and the sixth since the proclamation of the republic in 1889.[1] [2] It was promulgated on 5 October 1988, after a two-year process in which it was written from scratch. It was revised in 2017. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Another criticism is that the 1988 Federal Constitution reproduces a model of state capitalism, expanding state monopolies and regulations, which allowed the Brazilian state, in 2017, to have stakes in more than 650 companies, involved in one-third of the national GDP. This model also created restrictions for the performance of foreign companies in several fields with harmful consequences for the country's growth. In the view of some scholars, this economic model favors patrimonialism and corruption.[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

The Constitution is also responsible for creating a slow judicial system. Brazil has the 30th slowest judiciary among 133 countries, according to the World Bank. This has caused the judiciary to use provisional arrests as an advance of the sentence. In 2015 more than 40% of prisoners in Brazil were provisional.[14] [15] [16] [17]

A World Bank study criticized the 1988 Federal Constitution for extending the privileges of civil servants, aggravating income inequality in Brazil. Remuneration and retirement are disproportionately high according to studies. In 2015, the federal government's deficit associated with the retirement of the approximately 1 million government employees was greater than the total registered with 33 million private pensioners. For the World Bank, civil servants are among the richest fifth of the Brazilian population. For Roberto Brant, the Federal Constitution was captured by groups of civil servants in 1988. Philosopher Fernando Schüler maintains that Brazil went against the grain in the 1980s: "While the world tried to adjust the State to globalization and modernize public management, Brazil bet on a super bureaucratic state in the 1988 Constitution. We offer rigid stability in the employment for civil servants, we mix careers of State with common careers of the public service, we create the law of biddings, we cast the budgets and we eliminate any space for the meritocracy in the public area." For jurist Modesto Carvalhosa, only a new "principiological" constitution would end the privileges of the 1988 Constitution.[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]

The Federal Constitution of 1988 is also criticized for having adopted one of the broadest Special Forums in the world, which jurists argue encourage corruption. A quarter of the actions with a Privileged Forum take more than ten years to be judged. The Supreme Federal Court takes 1,300 days to judge criminal actions by persons with privileged jurisdiction. Between 2001 and 2017, 200 actions involving the Privileged Forum expired.[25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]

Also criticized is the requirement of unappealable transit for the execution of the sentence. For Judge Sergio Moro, waiting for the final judgment will contribute to impunity. According to Minister Teori Zavascki after confirming a second sentence, one could no longer speak of the principle of non-culpability, since "the exceptional remedies, for the superimposition courts, do not boast the ability to review facts and evidence".

In the electoral aspect, the Constitution adopted the mandatory vote. Among the 15 largest economies in the world, Brazil is the only country in which voting is mandatory. A 2014 survey showed that the mandatory vote is rejected by 61% of Brazilians. Some question whether it is democratic to compel people to vote.[31] [32] [33] [34]

The Constitution adopted the social democratic model of State organization, as defined by the columnist for the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo Luiz Sérgio Henriques. For professor and lawyer Marco Aurélio Marrafon, president of the Brazilian Academy of Constitutional Law, the 1988 Brazilian Magna Carta organized the State according to the Welfare State model, in which it is intended to reconcile "the liberal component of preservation of individual rights and limitation of state power, with direct economic intervention and the promotion of public policies, in order to redistribute resources and reduce social inequalities." In order to finance the Welfare State, it was necessary to raise the tax burden, which went from 23.4% of GDP in 1988, to 33.6% of GDP in 2005, and to link budget revenues. Thus, the Union reached 93% of mandatory spending in 2017, decreasing the room for maneuver by the government and affecting investments. This option is criticized by some.[35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44]

Some criticize an alleged excessive power granted to the Order of Attorneys of Brazil by the Constitution. Brazilian philosopher and journalist Hélio Schwartsman considers that the 1988 Constitution conferred "disproportionate powers" on lawyers such as "appointing judges, writing laws, proposing direct actions of unconstitutionality, defining who can and who cannot become a lawyer". Roberto Campos, economist, ex-senator and Minister of Planning of Brazil in the early years of the military dictatorship noted that "The OAB has achieved the feat of being mentioned three times in what he defines as the "besteirol Constitution" of 1988. According to him, "it's perhaps the only case in the world where a club of professionals has enshrined the constitutional text."[45] [46]

Contents

The Constitution of Brazil is composed of nine titles, subsequently divided into chapters and then articles. The articles are in turn divided into short clauses called incisos (indicated by Roman numerals) and parágrafos (indicated by numbers followed by §). The Constitution refers to the country as "the Union".

Preamble

The preamble to the Federal Constitution is a brief introductory statement that sets out the guiding purpose and principles of the document. The text reads:[47] [48]

Title 1

Title 1 is devoted to the fundamental principles of the Union. It describes the States, the municipalities and the Federal District as the indissoluble constituents of the Union. It also establishes three independent, harmonic government branches: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary, and lists the nation's main goals.

One of the most important excerpts from this title is in Article 1, single paragraph, stating:

Title 2

Title 2 states the Fundamental Safeguards.[49] It ensures basic rights to all citizens and foreigners residing in the Country, prohibits capital punishment, defines citizenship requirements, political rights, among other regulations.

Title 3

Title 3 regulates the state organization. It establishes Brasília as the nation's capital, describes the rights and duties of the states, the municipalities, as well rules for the public staff.

Title 4

Title 4 is about the branches of government. It describes the attributes for every government branch, and the rules for amendments to the Constitution as well.

Title 5

Title 5 regulates the defense of the State and its democratic institutions. It rules the deployment of the armed forces, the national security baselines, and declaration of state of emergency.

Title 6

Title 6 comprises taxation and the nation's budget. It disposes on budget distribution among the Union's components and their competencies, and the nation's budget.

Title 7

Title 7 rules the economic activities in the country, the agricultural and urban policies, as well the state monopolies.

Title 8

Title 8 is about the social order. It establishes the Social Security system, the Public Health system, the Public Pension system, among regulations concerning education, culture, science and technology, and sports policies.

Title 9

Title 9 encompasses general constitutional dispositions. Among those, there are sparse regulations, as well as transitional dispositions.

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Elkins . Zachary . The Endurance of National Constitutions . Ginsburg . Tom . Melton . James . 2009-10-12 . Cambridge University Press . 10.1017/cbo9780511817595 . 978-0-521-73132-4.
  2. [Comparative Constitutions Project]
  3. https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Brazil_2017 Brazilian Constitution
  4. Web site: Entrevista: Luís Roberto Barroso — Parte 1. 14 May 2006. 7 March 2018. Conjur.
  5. Web site: A marca inequívoca da CF de 88 é a da judicialização. 14 May 2006. 7 March 2018. Conjur.
  6. Web site: Constituição Federal completa 20 anos envelhecida e remendada. 4 October 2010. 7 March 2018. Conjur.
  7. Web site: The Case of Brazil . 26 February 2018 .
  8. Web site: Críticas de Roberto Campos à Constituição ainda ecoam. 25 November 2012. 7 March 2018. Conjur.
  9. Web site: Privatizações: ainda é pouco . 24 August 2017 . 26 February 2018 .
  10. Web site: Constituição de 1988 pára pesquisa mineral. 29 May 2004. 7 March 2018. Folha.
  11. Web site: Governo quer ampliar abertura da economia e flexibilizar monopólios. 29 May 2004. 3 March 2018. Folha.
  12. Web site: ANÁLISE - A questão é: haverá mais?. 29 May 2004. 7 March 2018.
  13. Web site: Inchaço estatal. 7 March 2018. Folha.
  14. Web site: Por que a Justiça brasileira é lenta?. 5 August 2017. BBC News Brasil . João . Fellet . 2013 .
  15. Web site: Por que a Justiça brasileira é lenta?. 5 August 2017. EXAME . Alvaro . Bodas . 2017 . 24 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200224230853/https://exame.abril.com.br/brasil/por-que-a-justica-brasileira-e-lenta/. dead.
  16. Web site: Justiça, mesmo tardia. 5 August 2017. Gazeta de Alagoas . 8 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180308042529/http://gazetaweb.globo.com/gazetadealagoas/noticia.php?c=318611. dead.
  17. Web site: No Brasil, 40% dos presos são provisórios . Agência . Pública . 2015 . 5 March 2018. Carta Capital. 13 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170713122025/https://www.cartacapital.com.br/sociedade/prende-primeiro-pergunta-depois-2548.html. dead.
  18. Web site: Assim não dá. Giuliano . Guandalini . 24 November 2017. 5 August 2017. Veja.
  19. Web site: Os privilégios salariais do servidor público. 24 November 2017. 5 August 2017. Globo. 8 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180308041845/http://noblat.oglobo.globo.com/editoriais/noticia/2017/12/os-privilegios-salariais-do-servidor-publico.html. dead.
  20. Web site: Serviço público puxa desigualdade na Previdência. 24 November 2017. 5 August 2017. Globo.
  21. Web site: Para o Banco Mundial, Brasil precisa reduzir os privilégios de servidores. 24 November 2017. 5 August 2017.
  22. Web site: "Pobre paga privilégios de servidores", diz ex-ministro da Previdência. 24 November 2017. 5 March 2018.
  23. Web site: Reforma administrativa ou do Estado?. 10 October 2019 . 10 October 2019.
  24. Web site: "Os brasileiros estão a eliminar os políticos que sugam o Estado" . 27 October 2018 . 10 October 2019.
  25. Web site: Foro privilegiado no Brasil é mais amplo comparado a outros 20 países. O Globo. 24 October 2016. 14 December 2016.
  26. Web site: Para ministro Barroso, foro privilegiado 'é feito para não funcionar'. Valor Econômico. 24 October 2016. 14 December 2016. Estevão Taiar.
  27. José Nêumanne (13 Junho 2016). «O privilégio do foro».politica.estadao.com.br
  28. Web site: Casos de foro privilegiado se arrastam por até 18 anos. 6 November 2016. 5 March 2018.
  29. Web site: STF leva 1,3 mil dias para julgar ações penais de pessoas com foro privilegiado. 19 March 2017. 5 March 2018.
  30. Web site: O foro privilegiado em números. 23 November 2017. 5 March 2018.
  31. Web site: Voto obrigatório no mundo. 12 May 2014. 5 March 2018.
  32. Web site: Rejeição a voto obrigatório atinge 61% e alcança taxa recorde entre brasileiros. 12 May 2014. 5 March 2018.
  33. Web site: Na democracia o voto é um direito, não uma obrigação. 24 May 2005. 5 March 2018.
  34. Web site: Principal instrumento da democracia tem de ser facultativo. 24 May 2005. 5 March 2018.
  35. Web site: A perspectiva social-democrata. 5 March 2018.
  36. Web site: Esgotamento do Estado de Bem-Estar afeta concretização de direitos sociais. 5 March 2018.
  37. Web site: Do poder constituinte lipoaspiracional. 5 March 2018.
  38. Web site: Pesquisadores alertam para sistema tributário regressivo no Brasil; mais pobres são afetados. 17 June 2019.
  39. Web site: União tem 93% de gastos obrigatórios. 29 March 2018. 12 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201112014834/https://epocanegocios.globo.com/Economia/noticia/2018/03/epoca-negocios-uniao-tem-93-de-gastos-obrigatorios.html. dead.
  40. Web site: "Quem vencer as eleições vai governar de mãos amarradas". 29 March 2018.
  41. Web site: "Constituição de 1988 é a causa do atraso do Brasil, diz descendente de D. Pedro II". 5 March 2018.
  42. Web site: A Constituição de 1988 na visão de Roberto Campos. 5 March 2018.
  43. Web site: Carta criou despesas sem fonte de recursos . 5 March 2018.
  44. Web site: Uma visão crítica . 10 October 2016 . 5 January 2020.
  45. Web site: Negócios da OAB. 30 August 2012.
  46. Web site: O pior corporativismo. 5 March 2018.
  47. http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/br00000_.html Brazil - Constitution:Preamble
  48. http://www.imprensaoficial.com.br/PortalIO/download/pdf/Constituicoes_declaracao.pdf Declaração - Constituição Federal
  49. Web site: Brazil 1988 (rev. 2014). Constitute. 9 April 2015.