citizenship is the exercise of civil, political and social rights and duties established in the Constitution of a country, by its respective citizens (individuals that make up a given nation).
Citizenship can also be defined as the condition of the citizen, an individual who lives in accordance with a set of statutes belonging to a politically and socially articulated community.
Good citizenship implies that rights and duties are intertwined, and respect and fulfillment of both contribute to a more balanced and just society.
How important is citizenship?
Theoretically, the application of the concept of citizenship is essential for there to be a better social organization. Exercising citizenship is being aware of your rights and obligations, ensuring that these are put into practice.
Exercising citizenship is being in full enjoyment of constitutional provisions. Preparing citizens for the exercise of citizenship is one of the goals of education in a country.
Rights and duties
Citizenship is constituted by the combination of a series of rights and duties, which vary according to each nation or social group. However, from the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, some topics came to be considered universal for almost all human beings.Among some of the main duties and rights of citizens are:
Citizen duties
- Vote to choose the rulers;
- Comply with the laws;
- Educate and protect others;
- Protect nature;
- Protect the country's public and social assets.
citizen rights
- Right to health, education, housing, work, social security, leisure, among others;
- The citizen is free to write and say what he thinks, but he needs to sign what he said and wrote;
- All are respected in their faith, thought and action in society;
- Citizens are free to practice any work, craft or profession, but the law can ask for studies and a diploma for this;
- Only the author of a work has the right to use, publish and copy it, and that right passes to his heirs;
- A person's property, when he dies, passes to his heirs;
- In times of peace, anyone can go from one city to another, stay in or leave the country, obeying the law made for that.
Read more about what it's like to be a Citizen.
Examples of citizenship
To practice citizenship is to enjoy the rights and duties that, theoretically, all citizens have. Let's look at some examples:
vote for president
The possibility of choosing the President of the Republic is part of political rights. In Brazil, for example, voting is mandatory: it is not just a right, but a duty of the citizen.
Apply for a political office
In addition to voting, all citizens have the right to join a political party and run for legislative or executive positions. The possibility of being voted on is another very important political right.
move freely around the country
Freedom of movement across the national territory is a fundamental civil right. The right to come and go concerns the individual possibility to leave, enter or remain in the territory.
Enroll your children in a public school
The right to quality public education is one of the most important aspects of the so-called social rights, which aim to build a more equal society. According to the Federal Constitution of 1988, the State is responsible for guaranteeing this right to all Brazilian citizens.
Being treated in a public hospital
In Brazil, there is the SUS (Unified Health System), which guarantees free medical care for everyone. The right to health was an achievement of Brazilian society. It is provided for in the Federal Constitution of 1988, which guarantees that health is a citizen's right and a duty of the State.
Declare and pay income tax
One of the most important duties of the citizen for the maintenance of the State is to pay taxes, and the most important of them is the one that is levied on your income (what you earn). Every year, citizens must declare to the Internal Revenue Service their annual earnings, on which the tax will be collected.
watch over the public space
Another example of citizenship is the zeal that each person must have with common use spaces, such as squares, streets and other places of public access.
See also Ethics and Citizenship and Ways to exercise citizenship.
Origin of citizenship
The concept of citizenship would have emerged during the Ancient Greece, but in a less egalitarian way as it is practiced today.
At that time, only free men who were born and lived in cities were considered citizens. Foreigners and women, for example, did not have the rights and duties that the "democratic" political regime granted.
In fact, etymologically the word citizenship originated from the Latin civitas, which literally means "city", as it was directly related to people in urban centers. Currently, however, the concept of citizen goes beyond the limits of metropolises.
From the 18th century, with influence of Enlightenment ideals It's from economic and political liberalism, the way in which citizenship starts to be interpreted begins to resemble the contemporary model.
Dual citizenship
Citizenship is also interpreted as a person's status as a member of a nation-state. In other words, it would be the definition of the place where the citizen exercises his rights and duties.
To have Brazilian citizenship, a person must have been born in Brazilian territory or apply for naturalization, in the case of foreigners. However, citizens of other countries who wish to acquire Brazilian citizenship must comply with all the steps required for this process.
Thus, Brazilian citizenship, for example, is related to the individual who is linked to the rights and duties that are defined in the Constitution of Brazil. However, someone born in Brazil can acquire citizenships of other countries (dual citizenship), as long as they follow a set of conditions imposed by the respective nations.
See also the meaning of Nationality.
Citizenship in Brazil
The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil, promulgated on October 5, 1988, by the National Constituent Assembly, composed of 559 congressmen (deputies and senators), it consolidated democracy, after long years of military dictatorship in the Brazil.
In other words, full democracy is relatively recent in Brazil, as well as citizenship, compared to other countries.
Find out more about the meaning of Democracy and meet important moments for citizenship in Brazil.