Abstract

COUTO, Cláudio Gonçalves  and  ARANTES, Rogério Bastos. Constitution, government, and democracy in Brazil. Rev. bras. Ci. Soc. [online]. 2006, vol.21, n.61, pp. 41-62. ISSN 0102-6909.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-69092006000200003.

The Brazilian constitution of 1988 has a high rate of constitutional amendmenting, with 58 amendments in eighteen years (3.22 amendments per year), most of the times sponsored by the Executive Power, aiming at implementing public policies. Due to the fact that the post-1988 governmental program has abided a constituent agenda with important implications towards the relations between the Executive and both the Congress and the Judiciary, the comprehension of the current Brazilian political dynamics passes necessarily through the understanding of our constitutional profile. Considered that, this article analyses the profile of the 1988 constitution based on its contents discerning to what extent the constitutional text - as well as constitutional norms - contemplate public policies, causing it to be more prone to change initiatives. Such analysis has been done by means of a Constitutional Analysis Methodology (Metodologia de Análise Constitucional - MAC) developed by the authors, which allows for the interpretation of the constitutional devices meaning as well as its measurement.

Keywords : Constitutionalism; Democracy; Public policies; Governmental process; Constitutional change.