An Anti-Oligarchic Constitutional Theory for Brazil

Abstract

https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8966/2026/100209

The article proposes an anti-oligarchic interpretation of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution. The premise of the text is that, although our political system is formally democratic, the existing regime has strong oligarchic traits, as it is characterized by extreme concentration of income and wealth among a small segment of the population, and by the ease with which the elites convert this economic power into political power. As a result, these elites are able to perpetuate and deepen social inequalities and injustices by blocking redistributive measures. The article demonstrates that constitutionalism has often served to preserve the interests of oligarchies, but argues that it is possible to construct an alternative, anti-oligarchic constitutionalism. It advocates that the 1988 Constitution´s commitments to material equality, democracy, and the republic demand, in Brazil, the adoption of an anti-oligarchic constitutional theory aimed at a profound transformation of the status quo.