The Brazilian Federal Constitution turns 35 today, October 5th. Its promulgation represented the return of the democratic regime after the period of military dictatorship in the country, which suppressed many of the population's rights.
This Constitution is the seventh Brazilian Magna Carta which is also known as Citizen Constitution, due to the broad guarantee of rights it brings with it. Today, the Federal Constitution turns 35 years old, with the arrival of this date many celebrations and ceremonies are held.
In the Chamber of Deputies, events open to the public and commemorative activities are being held, which began on October 2nd. From visits by interns from all over the country to the Solemn Session at the National Congress and Seminars with testimonies from constituent deputies take place this week within the Brazilian Legislative Houses.
The parliamentarian in charge of coordinating the 35th anniversary celebrations is Second Secretary of the Board of Directors, deputy Maria do Rosário.
We went to talk to her to get more information about the history and current context of the Constitution. See what we discovered!Want to know more about the promulgation of the Federal Constitution of 88?Click here
Brazilian Federal Constitution
The Brazilian Federal Constitution has very unique characteristics due to the context in which it was promulgated. According to the Deputy, the Constitution was born in a period when Brazil was looking for overcome authoritarianism and brought winds of freedom to the country.
One of the aspects highlighted was the combination of two types of democracy, the direct It is the representative. However, the parliamentarian emphasizes that, in Brazil, we still do not practice these concepts enough, even though this idea is present in the Constitution.
Still according to the Deputy, the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 values citizenship and that's what sets it apart from the rest.
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Rights conquered by the Brazilian Federal Constitution
With the end of the Military Dictatorship, many rights needed to be established and protected by our Constitution. We asked the deputy what the most notable changes, she answered:
There are many achievements, especially compared to our own country; the country we had before 88, during the dictatorial period. We had a democratic Constitution in 1946, but it was practically not implemented.
So, in 88, we started to have the democratic rule of law, human rights as a principle. In international relations, peace and respect for the self-determination of peoples.
Full legal equality between women and men, freedom of party organization, freedom of expression as an essential clause. Also, the entire article 5, it is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights incorporated into Brazil
In addition to these transformations, many rights achievements came post-promulgation of the Constitution. These changes were only possible due to the legal provision established by the new Magna Carta.
As Maria do Rosário said, some of the main advances they are:
- The Unified Health System (SUS)
- The creation of Fundeb
- The ordering of Brazilian education on democratic bases
- Consolidation of a social assistance system
- Fight torture
What is still missing from the Brazilian Federal Constitution
The parliamentarian also highlights aspects that were not developed in the Brazilian Constitution, even though they are extremely important. It exemplifies the little attention given the causes of the LGBTQIA+ movement, which to date does not have specific legislation.
Another challenge faced by the Magna Carta is disobedience to its principles. We asked the Deputy about what should be done to increase the influence of the Constitution in the country.
She begins by responding that around 129 parliamentary amendments have already been approved. So, Maria do Rosário, talks about the attempts to mischaracterize the Constitution. She goes on to say that over these 35 years there have been times when the Constitution was ignored and treated as a simple declaration.
She emphasizes that public policies that were dismantled in previous periods could not have been, due to the principle of no regression in the scope of rights. She concludes by stating that the Constitution needs to be better known to the population, so that they know what their rights are.
Celebrations of 35 years of the Constitution
To conclude, we asked the parliamentarian what would be the mark of this anniversary celebrations, she answered:
What we want to say is that democracy is a responsibility of all of us, institutions, society and individuals. In fact, we are making a counterpoint to those coup demonstrations that took place in the Chamber of Deputies, which broke the powers. In each attack that the powers suffered, the constitution was being torn apart
