Beyond futebol and language: what have we missed from not paying Brazilian constitutionalism its due attention? Reflections from Chile
| Autor | Pablo Contreras, Domingo Lovera |
| Cargo | Assistant professor at Universidad Alberto Hurtado (Santiago, Chile). S.J.D. at Northwestern University (Evanstone, United States of America)/Assistant professor at Universidad Diego Portales (Santiago, Chile). Ph.D. at Osgoode Hall Law School (North York, Canada). LL.M. at Columbia University (New York, United States of America) |
| Páginas | 117-135 |
Licenciado sob uma Licença Creative Commons
Licensed under Creative Commons
Revista de Investigações Constitucionais, Curitiba, vol. 5, n. 3, p. 117-135, set./dez. 2018. 117
Revista de Investigações Constitucionais
ISSN 2359-5639
DOI: 10.5380/rinc.v5i3.60976
Beyond futebol and language: what have we
missed from not paying Brazilian constitutionalism
its due attention? Reections from Chile
Para além do futebol e do idioma: o que perdemos
por não ter dado ao constitucionalismo brasileiro a
devida atenção? Reexões a partir do Chile
PABLO CONTRERAS*
Universidad Alberto Hurtado (Chile)
pacontrv@uahurtado.cl
DOMINGO LOVERA**
Universidad Diego Portales (Chile)
domingo.lovera@udp.cl
Recebido/Received: 13.08.2018 / August 13th, 2018
Aprovado/Approved: 25.08.2018 / August 25th, 2018
Abstract
This essay proposes a critical and comparative reection
focusing on the lack of ‘constitutional dialogue’ Chile has
developed with Brazil – and vice versa. After proposing
a couple of contentions to explain this lack of attention
(cultural and constitutional colonialism, on the one hand,
coupled with Brazil geopolitical power, on the other), it
moves on to lament what this lack of attention has de-
prived Chile from. As it discusses the means to overcome
the lack of legitimacy that aects Chile’s constitutional
text, it calls attention to some of the reasons that may
Resumo
Este ensaio propõe uma reexão crítica e comparativa
com foco na falta de “diálogo constitucional” que o Chile
desenvolveu com o Brasil – e vice-versa. Depois de propor
algumas disputas para explicar essa falta de atenção (co-
lonialismo cultural e constitucional, por um lado, aliado
ao poder geopolítico do Brasil, por outro), passa a lamen-
tar o quanto essa falta de atenção prejudicou o Chile. Ao
discutir os meios para superar a falta de legitimidade que
afeta o texto constitucional do Chile, chama a atenção para
algumas das razões que podem explicar, e na realidade
Como citar esse artigo/How to cite this article: CONTRERAS, Pablo; LOVERA, Domingo. Beyond futebol and language: what have
we missed from not paying Brazilian constitutionalism its due attention? Reections from Chile. Revista de Investigações
Constitucionais, Curitiba, vol. 5, n. 3. p. 117-135, set./dez. 2018. DOI: 10.5380/rinc.v5i3.60976.
* Assistant professor at Universidad Alberto Hurtado (Santiago, Chile). S.J.D. at Northwestern University (Evanstone, United States
of America). LL.M. at Northwestern University. M.A. at Universidad Alberto Hurtado. E-mail: pacontrv@uahurtado.cl.
** Assistant professor at Universidad Diego Portales (Santiago, Chile). Ph.D. at Osgoode Hall Law School (North York, Canada).
LL.M. at Columbia University (New York, United States of America). E-mail: domingo.lovera@udp.cl.
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PABLO CONTRERAS | DOMINGO LOVERA
Revista de Investigações Constitucionais, Curitiba, vol. 5, n. 3, p. 117-135, set./dez. 2018.
Revista de Investigações Constitucionais, Curitiba, vol. 5, n. 3, p. 117-135, set./dez. 2018
CONTENTS
1. Introduction; 2. Brazil: A foreign neighbor? 3. Brazil as a (proud constitutional) continent; 4. A demo-
cratic transition as a factor for exceptionalism; 5. Some conclusions: Excuse us, we are lost; 6. References.
1. INTRODUCTION
The Constitution of Brazil is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2018. According
to one commentator, its text shows a constitution which is “reasonably advanced” and
whose innovations are relevant not only to Brazilian but also to “worldwide constitutio-
nalism”.1 How does Chile view the Brazilian experience? How has this advanced consti-
tutionalism impacted us? The answer seems both embarrassing and intriguing. A quick
survey on Chilean constitutional scholarship shows references to Brazil’s Constitution
and constitutionalism to be virtually non-existent. The most cited, as well as required,
constitutional law handbooks practically do not mention any regulation, let alone de-
velopment, of what Figueiredo labels as Brazil’s advanced constitutionalism. It is true
that amidst our own discussion on constitutional change some have revived (mostly to
challenge those who favor a constituent assembly) the Brazilian experience of 1988.2
Nevertheless, these scholars are still the exception within a scholarly trend that prefers
to look to the Global North in search of (constitutional) experiences.
What explains this lack of attention? It is true that over the years we have develo-
ped a reverential fear towards Brazil when it comes to football. But that cannot seriously
account for the scholarly aversion depicted above. Of course, there is also the language
barrier. But it should not be deemed as an obstacle that is too burdensome. In fact, from
a practical viewpoint both sides have come to idiomatic terms by resorting to what
many call ‘portuñol’ – an informal mix of both Spanish and Portuguese. Furthermore,
many legal practitioners have studied abroad and for some reason or another have
paid attention to constitutional developments in other countries upon learning the
1 FIGUEIREDO, Marcelo. La Evolución Político-Constitucional de Brasil. Revista Estudios Constitucionales,
Santiago, año 6, n. 2, p. 209-246, 2008. p. 210.
2 SOTO, Francisco. Las falacias sobre la asamblea constituyente. Reexiones sobre el actual debate constitucio-
nal en Chile. In: CHIA, Eduardo; QUEZADA, Flavio (Eds.). Propuestas para una Nueva Constitución (Originada
en democracia). Santiago: Instituto Igualdad – Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Chile – Friederich
Ebert Stiftung, 2015. p. 88; SOTO, Francisco. Asamblea Constituyente: La experiencia Latinoamericana y el ac-
tual debate en Chile. Revista Estudios Constitucionales, Santiago, año 12, n. 1, p. 397-428, 2014. p. 408-9.
explain, and actually justify, the celebratory tone the Bra-
zilian Constitution’s 30th anniversary has acquired.
Keywords: Brazil; Chile; constitutional change; Constitu-
tional Law; comparative constitutionalism.
justicar, o tom celebratório que o aniversário de 30 anos
da Constituição brasileira acabou por adquirir.
Palavras-chave: Brasil; Chile; mudança constitucional; Di-
reito Constitucional; constitucionalismo comparado.
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