Tag: Brazil
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Presidentialism and the Crisis of Governance in Brazil
[Editor’s Note: This is the fourth entry in our symposium on the “30th Anniversary of the Brazilian Constitution.” The introduction to the symposium is available here.] —Luiz Guilherme Arcaro Conci, Pontifical University of Sao Paulo Brazil was the only American country that, once independent (1822), established a national monarchy that reigned for almost eighty years[1].
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Memory and Forgetfulness in the Brazilian Dictatorship: Can New Revelations Help Brazil Expiate its Sins?
—Juliano Zaiden Benvindo, University of Brasília For a long time in Brazil, it has been taught that, in the final years of the dictatorship, during the presidency of General Ernesto Geisel (1974-1979) and General João Baptista Figueiredo (1979-1985), the repression and the human rights violations were gradually left aside in favor of a conciliatory discourse…
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The Rule of Law in Brazil: A Conceptual Challenge
—Juliano Zaiden Benvindo, University of Brasília Reinhart Koselleck, one of the most prominent German historians of the twentieth century, once wrote that “conceptual change is generally slower and more gradual than the pace of political events.”[1] Time and experience are required for properly grasping the distinct nuances of a concept.
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The Judicial Ban on Asbestos in Brazil: A Turning Point in the Relationship between International Law and Collective Fundamental Rights?
—Ranieri Lima Resende, PhD. in Law Candidate, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Visiting Doctoral Researcher, New York University.* Celebrated as one of the most important news stories of 2017 by environmentalists and human rights’ activists,[1] the recent prohibition of asbestos production and commerce throughout the country, ordered by the Brazilian Supreme Court on…
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The Judiciary as Second-Best Political Strategy: The Never-Ending Debate over the Presumption of Innocence in Brazil
—Juliano Zaiden Benvindo & Fernando José Gonçalves Acunha, University of Brasília In February 2016, one of us wrote a post on I-CONnect focusing on the Brazilian Supreme Court’s new precedent on the presumption of innocence.[1] The decision carried out a major shift by allowing criminal sentences to be enforced once a judgment has been affirmed…
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Religious Education in Brazil: A Tale of a Never-Ending Past
—Juliano Zaiden Benvindo & Fábio Almeida, University of Brasília On September 27, the Brazilian Supreme Court arguably decided the most important case on religious freedom and education rights in Brazilian history. Under scrutiny was whether religious freedom (Art. 5, VI, of the Brazilian Constitution) and religious education (Art.
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The Brazilian Moment in the Judicialization of Mega-Politics
–Vanice Lirio do Valle, Estacio de Sá University The Brazilian political crisis is visible worldwide, due to the bombastic effects of the findings in the huge police investigation called the “car-wash operation”. From the initial imprisonment of Senator Delcidio Amaral in 2015, up to the second criminal complaint addressed to President Michel Temer who was charged…
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The Brazilian Constitution of 1988, the Armed Forces, and the Coup d’Etat
—Emilio Peluso Neder Meyer, Marcelo Andrade Cattoni de Oliveira, & Thomas da Rosa Bustamante, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, Faculty of Law. On the 17th of September 2017, Brazilian Army General Antonio Hamilton Martins Mourão, during a lecture for a Masonic Lodge in Brasília, advocated the possibility of an interference of the Armed Forces…
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When is a Limp More than a Limp? Diagnosing Democratic Decay
—Tom Gerald Daly, Fellow, Melbourne Law School; Associate Director, Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law Sometimes a limp is just a limp–arising from a debilitating yet isolated injury or infection that will soon heal. However, sometimes a limp can be indicative of a degenerative disease such as multiple sclerosis.
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Brazilian Democratic Decay and the Fear of the People
—Juliano Zaiden Benvindo & Fernando José Gonçalves Acunha, University of Brasília A recurring trend in comparative constitutional law is the emerging populism, which, in its various forms, extends to places and contexts as diverse as the United States, Poland, Turkey, Hungary, the Philippines, Latin America and so forth.