Abstract

The Brazilian Constitution was enacted over 31 years ago, and it pioneered several constitutional changes in Latin America, in line with a transformational project which was to be achieved through the protection of human rights including socioeconomic rights. Three decades of this constitutional experience have highlighted aspects in which the original design has proven to be too ambitious, and not capable of overcoming political blockages as was originally intended. This Article describes the historical context in which the Brazilian Constitution was drafted and enacted, and discusses in general terms the political structure and the fundamental rights that the constitution provides. These baselines allow the reader to understand the current challenges that the Constitution now faces in the task of regulating a social ambience and collective expectations that are substantially different from those of the late 1980s which are synthesized in that same political document. Especial attention is given to judicial control over public policies—a relevant trend in the Brazilian judiciary, which raises much debate concerning its compatibility with the checks and balances principle. As a conclusion, the Article recognizes that the Brazilian Constitution is an institutional success, considering its ability to enable redemocratization, and even to overcome deep political crisis. This should not, however, be enough reason to take its strategy in the human rights field, as a successful one, to be uncritically reproduced in other countries.

中文翻译：

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巴西宪法：背景，结构和当前挑战

摘要

《巴西宪法》是在31年前颁布的，并根据通过保护人权（包括社会经济权利）实现的转型项目，在拉丁美洲率先进行了几项宪法改革。三十年的宪法经验突显出原始设计过于雄心勃勃的方面，并且无法克服原本打算的政治障碍。本文介绍了起草和颁布《巴西宪法》的历史背景，并从广义上讨论了该宪法规定的政治结构和基本权利。这些基准使读者能够理解《宪法》目前在调节社会氛围和集体期望方面面临的当前挑战，这些挑战与同一政治文件中综合的1980年代后期的挑战大不相同。特别关注对公共政策的司法控制，这是巴西司法机构的一种趋势，这引发了关于其与制衡原则相兼容的争论。作为结论，该条承认巴西宪法是一项体制上的成功，考虑到它能够实现民主化，甚至克服深刻的政治危机的能力。但是，这不应成为将其在人权领域的战略作为一项成功战略，在其他国家中不加批判地加以复制的充分理由。