Constitutions and democratic consolidation: Brazil in comparative perspective

Abstract

The Report analyzes the Brazilian experience in formulating a new constitution in 1987- 1988 in comparative perspective with Portugal and Spain. It is demonstrated how the political actors in Brazil participated in the Constituent Assembly in order to ensure their interests in the basic document. Due to the political dynamics of the period and the severe economic crisis, the Assembly was extremely open, or porous, and the resulting document is long (315 articles), detailed, and extremely ambitious. There is some question, however, whether the political structures and economic resources will allow for a substantial implementation of the Constitution. (fr) ; http://archive.org/details/constitutionsdem00brun ; Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.