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Constitution that put an end to Brazil’s dictatorship celebrates its 25th anniversary
Criado em 04/10/13 19h42
e atualizado em 04/10/13 19h51
Por Iolando Lourenço and Ivan Richard
Edição:s
Fonte:Agência Brasil
Brasília – “I hereby declare the passing of the document of liberty, democracy and social justice of Brazil,” said deputy Ulysses Guimarães, president of the National Constituent Assembly, 25 years ago. He announced officially the end of the military dictatorship in Brazil. The veteran politician, who had been the head of the opposition to the military dictatorship, named the new magna carta “Citizen Constitution”, because it restored the democratic rights lost in 1964, when president João Goulart was overthrown – he was the last president elected before the dictatorship was established. During a dictatorship that lasted for over twenty years, generals took turns in the power made legitimate by a Congress taken over by politicians who supported this regime.
This situation began to change in the early 1980’s, when a campaign for direct elections, whereby the ordinary people were entitled to vote, caused a stir all across the country. However, the project that restored the democratic suffrage was subsequently turned down on April 25, 1984, when an amendment entitled “Direct Elections Now” (Diretas Já, in the original Portuguese) was rejected by Congress with a rather small difference: 22 votes.
The opposition took advantage of the opportunity to overthrow the military by applying their own rules at the electoral college, made up of deputies and senators.
The governor of the state of Minas Gerais, Tancredo Neves, mediated the dispute that took place during the elections for presidency, in which, up to this point, only military candidates were allowed to participate. He convinced his allies, left the group and became the opposition’s candidate. Prominent politicians, like deputies Ulysses Guimarães, Miguel Arraes and Fernando Henrique Cardoso, joined emerging leaders, like the leader of metal workers Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and set off on an expedition across the entire country in an attempt to bring society together under the idea of a new, civil government, active in the restoration of democracy. One of the promises made during the campaign was the creation of the Constituent Assembly. In this competition, Tancredo defeated the civil candidate of the military, deputy Paulo Maluf.
Tancredo Neves should have taken office on March 15, 1985, but due to an intestinal problem aggravated by his age, he had to be taken to a hospital. He died on April 21. Vice-president José Sarney took his position and started a government model that was the transition from dictatorship to democracy. He created the National Constituent Assembly, whose members were 487 deputies alongside 72 senators, who took office on February 1, 1987.
For the first time in Brazilian history, ordinary people collaborated on the writing of the country’s Constitution by making proposals signed by more than 12,000 citizens. People traveled to Brasília in groups from all over the country. They wanted to take a closer look at the work done by the congressmen.
Nélson Jobim, former president of the Supreme Federal Court – Brazil’s supreme court – became the assistant court reporter of the Assembly. He remembers very distinctly the entire process of choosing and organizing all the proposals. In his view, the traumas suffered during the years of dictatorship exerted considerable influence on the precision of the text: “Back then, in 1988, there was a feeling of deep distrust in the Executive Power arousing from the military government, and [at that point] it was easier to pass a constitutional text than a bill. As a result, it was much easier to pass the Constitution and that’s what explains [its precision].”
Jobim further points out, however that “the process of improving Brazil’s constitution goes on. The 74 regular constitutional amendments and the six revision ones we’ve passed stand as a proof of it. In other words, the Constitution has been changed eighty times. Some may say it’s outrageous. But it’s not. These are adjustments made to a constitution that was precise due to the circumstances of the time. It still undergoes adjustments.”
In his opinion, the document passed 25 years ago was “what we could do in the democratic process. The process was good for a reason: political stability. We enjoyed stability throughout the whole period, despite considerable traumas, like president [Fernando] Collor’s impeachment. There was no institutional problem. Things worked, progressed, moved on, there’s a discussion, a debate, but this is part of a process. The democratic process is not the product of a consensus, but the administration of a disagreement.”
The court reporter of the National Constituent Assembly, then federal deputy Bernardo Cabral, elected by the state of Amazonas, stated: “Our constitution includes the best chapter on fundamental rights and guarantees [in the world] because its conducting wire was man, the human being. The 1988 constitution refers to the human being right on its opening lines. The previous Brazilian constitutions, all of them, took care of the State before they took care of the human being. That’s why it’s been considered the Citizen Constitution, and deservedly so, by Ulysses [Guimarães].”
Editors: Marcos Chagas / Lícia Marques
Translators: Fabrício Ferreira
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