Brazilian reconstitutionalization in the second wave: a competition of democracies

ABSTRACT

In the decade and a half following World War II, processes of democratization took place across the globe in what political scientists frequently refer to as the second wave of democracy. This democratization was defined by a series of debates about the true meaning and correct form of democracy. This article examines the drafting of the 1946 Constitution of Brazil within this context. Specifically, this text reviews the ways competing definitions of democracy fueled the debates at the constitutional convention and informed the creation of political institutions. In contrast to previous scholarship on the drafting of the 1946 Constitution that depicts the proceedings as a competition between reactionary conservative and pro-democracy factions, this article finds that this Constitution constitutes a reconciliation of the competing definitions of democracy that existed among the Brazilian political class at that time. This contradicts the commonly held view that the 1946 regime was a muted democratic experiment. Furthermore, the article highlights some of the ways in which the democratization process in Brazil mirrored transitions elsewhere and how it was unique.

KEYWORDS:

• Brazil
• democracy
• Brazilian 1946 Constitution
• second wave of democracy
• constitution drafting

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Partido Social Democrático.

2. Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro.

3. For election data and returns see Dados Estatísticos 1950a, 1950b, v.1; Ano VI − 1941/1945

4. União Democrática Nacional.

5. A shift by right-wing parties in the direction of social democracy was detectable in Western Europe too. See Berman (2006), 177–99; Conway (2020), 162–254.

6. This article is based on a chapter from my unpublished DPhil thesis on democracy in the Brazilian Fourth Republic. All translations unless otherwise specified are the work of the author.