THE 1987 Constituent Assembly was carried out with the strict objective of drawing up a new Constitution for Brazil. This Constitution, enacted in 1988, sealed the transition from the military regime of the 1960s and 1970s to the democratic regime and is still in force today.
As you may know, Brazil went through a period of 25 years under military political regime, a regime that began in 1964 and only ended in 1985. During this period, especially from 1968 onwards, the basic rights of citizens, such as the rights to come and go and freedom of expression, were suspended by the regime. Elections became indirect, held only between the military collegiate and civilian congressmen, members of the only two party legends of the period: the National Renewal Alliance – Arena and the Brazilian Democratic Movement - MDB. The bulk of the population was on the sidelines of political decisions.
Unlike other countries where military regimes were in force, in Brazil there was no hostile rupture, that is, there was no war civil society or the rise of revolutionary groups to power, but rather a transition to democratic rule operated by the military. This transition began in 1979, with the Amnesty Law, which absolved the crimes committed by both revolutionary guerrillas and members of the Armed Forces. From 1979 to 1985, the process of democratic opening was carried out gradually: initially, there was again the freedom to form political parties in the early 1980s, as well as the first election campaigns direct.
In 1985, the first civilian president was elected (still indirectly): TancredoSnows. However, he died before taking office. The vice president-elect, Josephsarney, assumed the post, starting the first civilian government after 21 years. The following year (1986), there was the first direct election for governors and congressmen. It was these congressmen who took charge of preparing a new constitution to Brazil. The last one dated from 1967 and did not contemplate the new political aspirations.
THE National Constituent Assembly began to meet on February 1, 1987. She had a character of CongressConstituent, that is, the elected deputies and senators themselves drafted the text of the Constitution and remained in their positions after it was granted. In other countries, the process is different: congressmen are temporarily elected only to draft the Constitutional Charter. After the sessions ended, the Constituent Assembly was dissolved, and new elections were called - this process is called ConstituentExclusive.
In addition to the congressmen who participated, the so-called “notables” were also present, that is, people specialized in subjects such as education, health, law, etc. As historian Boris Fausto says in his book “História do Brasil”: “There was a yearning for it not only to secure the rights of citizens and the basic institutions of the country, but to solve many problems beyond its reach. The work of the Constituent Assembly was long, having formally ended on October 5, 1988, when the new Constitution was promulgated.” [1]
With the new Constitution approved, a new historical phase for the country began, which we see currently unfolding.
* Image credits: Wikipedia Commons and Agency Brazil
GRADES
[1] FAUSTO, Boris. history of Brazil. São Paulo: EDUSP, 2013. p 445.
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
