Suprema Corte e democracia made in Brazil: uma análise do papel ativo do STF na construção dos golpes de 1964 e 2016

Abstract

The present work has the objective to establish a comparative analysis of the behaviour of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) during the coups of 1964 and 2016, pointing out their differences and similarities and tracing a pattern of the Court position in the two moments of institutional rupture. In this sense, it was sought to question the legalistic conduct of the Head of the Judiciary, as well as its role of supporter in both cases. At first, the concept of coup was defined, in order to locate the two periods pointed out as times of suppression of democracy. The reaction of the Supreme would in practice express the effectiveness of the classical democratic system, based on the use of checks and balances and the separation of powers. The methodology used is based on the comparison of the STF jurisprudence on litigation regarding the Institutional Acts, from April 1964 to January 1969, as well as the diagnosis of the Court's performance during the course of the coup of 2016. The theoretical reference is framed mainly by the works of Bourdieu, notably the field perceptions and habitus. In this research, the Court's role as guarantor of the current order and stabilization factor in favour of the dominant sectors of politics is revealed, illustrating the argumentative elasticity of the Right to accommodate the new framework of the status quo.