Under the law´s empire: constitution and the national unity in the Brazil´s formation (1822-1834)

Author(s)

Andréa Slemian

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2006-11-16

Examining board members

Istvan Jancso; Wilma Peres Costa; Maria de Fátima Silva Gouvêa; Jose Reinaldo de Lima Lopes; Marco Morel

• Advisor: Istvan Jancso

Abstract

In the present thesis I deal with the development of a modern constitutional order in Brazil. An order that was cradled by the crises and desegregation of the American Portuguese Empire and also responsible for the movement of Independence and the formation of a new political entity. I focus on the struggle for the enforcement of an arrangement, both institutional and political, that enabled the development of a tie between the totality and its parts, with an emphasis on the definition of a provincial sphere of power; a totality that, until 1822, recognized itself as Portuguese. During the First Reign (1822- 1831) and the beginning of the Regency period (1831-1834), in an environment scared by violent conflicts between those who fought for different political projects, a pact mirrored on the idea of a Constitution had a primary role. To such a degree, that our first legislators considered fundamental to put in motion judicial reforms that enabled the governmental apparatuses to work. I analyze the constitutional experience, in those first years after the Brazilian independence, together with its influence on the administration of the country. It is mandatory to do so because the making of laws was closely connected to their observance. And both, as parts of what is called Public Law, were the pillars of the new Empire. By taking that into account, I uphold that the Constitution of 1824, differently of what is usually imagined, was extremely effective on grounding the new State\'s structure, as it can be seen by the debates concerning its reform. The legislative scenario revealed itself central to the understanding of the problem. That scenario evolved under a new ideal of political representation, grounded on the revolutionary concept that \"laws\" were the bearer of the \"Law\"; and to such an extent that it had the legitimacy needed for legislators to speak for the \"nation\" (AU)