Constitutionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean – serie

This book provides a fascinating analysis of a single jurisdiction, Brazil, and accounts for both the successes and the failures of its most recent constitutional project, inaugurated by the Constitution of 1988.It sets out the following aspects of the constitutional development and erosion:- the different phases of the promised transition from military rule to a ‘social-democratic constitutionalism’; - the obstacles to democratisation derived from the absence of true institutional reforms in the judicial branch and in the civil-military relationship; - the legal and social practices which maintained a structure that obstructed the emergence of an effective social-democracy, such as the neoliberal pattern, the acceptance in the political field of unlawful organisations, such as the milícias, and the way the digital revolution has been harming the formation of democratic sovereignty. Situating Brazil in the global context of the revival of authoritarianism, it details the factors which are common to the third wave of democratisation reflux. Accounting for those aspects, particular to the Brazilian jurisdiction, it shows that there is a tension in the Brazilian constitution.On the one hand, such constitutionalism was renewed by democratic pressure on governments to undertake social politics since 1988. On the other hand, it retained authoritarian practices through the hands of diverse institutions and political actors.By exploring the ideas of constitutional erosion and collapse, as well as democratic, social and digital constitutionalism, the book presents a comparative analysis of Brazil and other jurisdictions, including the United States, South Africa, and Peru.

This book provides a fascinating analysis of a single jurisdiction, Brazil, and accounts for both the successes and the failures of its most recent constitutional project, inaugurated by the Constitution of 1988.It sets out the following aspects of the constitutional development and erosion:- the different phases of the promised transition from military rule to a ‘social-democratic constitutionalism’; - the obstacles to democratisation derived from the absence of true institutional reforms in the judicial branch and in the civil-military relationship; - the legal and social practices which maintained a structure that obstructed the emergence of an effective social-democracy, such as the neoliberal pattern, the acceptance in the political field of unlawful organisations, such as the milícias, and the way the digital revolution has been harming the formation of democratic sovereignty. Situating Brazil in the global context of the revival of authoritarianism, it details the factors which are common to the third wave of democratisation reflux. Accounting for those aspects, particular to the Brazilian jurisdiction, it shows that there is a tension in the Brazilian constitution.On the one hand, such constitutionalism was renewed by democratic pressure on governments to undertake social politics since 1988. On the other hand, it retained authoritarian practices through the hands of diverse institutions and political actors.By exploring the ideas of constitutional erosion and collapse, as well as democratic, social and digital constitutionalism, the book presents a comparative analysis of Brazil and other jurisdictions, including the United States, South Africa, and Peru.

This book explains how the People of Puerto Rico managed to adopt a constitution whose content and process were both original and colonialist, participatory and undemocratic, as well as progressive and anticlimactic. It looks in detail at the rich contradictions of the Puerto Rican constitutional experience, focusing on the history and content of the 1952 Constitution. This constitution is the only constitutional document written by the Puerto Rican People themselves after more than 500 years of Spanish and US colonialism.By exploring Puerto Rico’s unique history and constitutional experience the book shines a spotlight on key emerging themes of comparative constitutional studies in this area: state constitutionalism, the persistence of colonial relationships in the Caribbean, and the continued development of constitutionalism in Latin America.The book delves deep into the particular experience of Puerto Rican constitutionalism which combines elements of colonialism, democratic tensions, and progressive policies. It explains how these features converge in a constitutional project that has endured for 70 years and continues its contradictory development. It considers issues such as the island’s colonial history, including its conflicting relationship with democratic values and the constant presence of social movements and their struggles. It also explores the content of the 1952 Constitution, focusing on its progressive substantive policy, particularly its rights provisions, its amendment procedures, and the governmental structure it set up.

This book explains how the People of Puerto Rico managed to adopt a constitution whose content and process were both original and colonialist, participatory and undemocratic, as well as progressive and anticlimactic. It looks in detail at the rich contradictions of the Puerto Rican constitutional experience, focusing on the history and content of the 1952 Constitution. This constitution is the only constitutional document written by the Puerto Rican People themselves after more than 500 years of Spanish and US colonialism.By exploring Puerto Rico’s unique history and constitutional experience the book shines a spotlight on key emerging themes of comparative constitutional studies in this area: state constitutionalism, the persistence of colonial relationships in the Caribbean, and the continued development of constitutionalism in Latin America.The book delves deep into the particular experience of Puerto Rican constitutionalism which combines elements of colonialism, democratic tensions, and progressive policies. It explains how these features converge in a constitutional project that has endured for 70 years and continues its contradictory development. It considers issues such as the island’s colonial history, including its conflicting relationship with democratic values and the constant presence of social movements and their struggles. It also explores the content of the 1952 Constitution, focusing on its progressive substantive policy, particularly its rights provisions, its amendment procedures, and the governmental structure it set up.

This book examines the reasoning practice of 15 constitutional courts and supreme courts, including the Caribbean Commonwealth and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Enriched by empirical data, with which it strives to contribute to a constructive and well-informed debate, the volume analyses how Latin American courts justify their decisions.Based on original data and a region-specific methodology, the book provides a systematic analysis utilising more than 600 leading cases. It shows which interpretive methods and concepts are most favoured by Latin American courts, and which courts were the most prolific in their reasoning activities.The volume traces the features of judicial dialogue on a regional and sub-regional level and enables the evaluation and comparison of each country’s reasoning culture in different epochs. The collection includes several graphs to visualise the changes and tendencies of the reasoning practices throughout time in the region, based on information gathered from the dataset.To better understand the current functioning and the future tendencies of courts in Latin America and the Caribbean, the volume illuminates how constitutional and supreme courts have actually been making their decisions in the selected landmark cases, which could also contribute to future successful litigation strategies for both national constitutional courts and the Inter-American Court for Human Rights.This project was made possible due to the collaboration and funding provided by the Rule of Law Programme for Latin America of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Law School of the University of San Francisco de Quito.

This book examines the reasoning practice of 15 constitutional courts and supreme courts, including the Caribbean Commonwealth and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Enriched by empirical data, with which it strives to contribute to a constructive and well-informed debate, the volume analyses how Latin American courts justify their decisions.Based on original data and a region-specific methodology, the book provides a systematic analysis utilising more than 600 leading cases. It shows which interpretive methods and concepts are most favoured by Latin American courts, and which courts were the most prolific in their reasoning activities.The volume traces the features of judicial dialogue on a regional and sub-regional level and enables the evaluation and comparison of each country’s reasoning culture in different epochs. The collection includes several graphs to visualise the changes and tendencies of the reasoning practices throughout time in the region, based on information gathered from the dataset.To better understand the current functioning and the future tendencies of courts in Latin America and the Caribbean, the volume illuminates how constitutional and supreme courts have actually been making their decisions in the selected landmark cases, which could also contribute to future successful litigation strategies for both national constitutional courts and the Inter-American Court for Human Rights.This project was made possible due to the collaboration and funding provided by the Rule of Law Programme for Latin America of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Law School of the University of San Francisco de Quito.

This book identifies 2 polarising concepts used by Brazilian mainstream sociology to explain the formation and identity of Brazil as a society: corruption and human rights. As the 1988 Constitution is a milestone in the Brazilian transition to democracy and part of a broader movement of Brazil's integration into international law, the impact of international legal regimes on the attainment of human rights and the fight against corruption is analysed to evaluate the state of Brazilian democracy.The book examines the outcomes of 4 specific international human rights regimes in Brazil, involving rights and policies related to:– the right to food, the fight against hunger, and conditional cash transfer programmes;– the right to health and the public healthcare system;– the right to racial equality and affirmative action in superior education; and– the right to recognition and the protection of Indigenous populations.This approach is then applied to the examination of the international anti-corruption agenda. It focuses on Brazil’s determination to deal with corruption against the backdrop of its worst democratic crisis of the last 35 years using meticulously researched case studies on the most prominent investigations, including Mensalão and Lava Jato (Car Wash). The book traces back to the origins of the international anti-corruption agenda and key legitimising efforts aimed at aligning the discourses with the developmental, good-governance trends, and delves into its repercussions within the Brazilian context, with a glance at their collateral effects in other parts of the world.Thus, the core focus of the work revolves around human rights and the fight against corruption, shedding light on how democracy evolves or recedes over time under their influence.