O papel do Supremo Tribunal Federal na consolidação da democracia no Brasil

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze the contribution of the Supreme Federal Court to the stabilization of the Brazilian democratic process. It sought to explore the history of the STF and its relationship with the political history of the country, particularly on how the socio-political context was determinant for the way the Court behaved. In addition, we studied the expansion of constitutional jurisdiction and the growth of the political role of the Supreme Courts and Constitutional Courts in young democracies. Finally, the positions adopted by the STF in the last decades after the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution were analyzed, and especially how the Court acted in the face of an acute process of democratic erosion manifested in recent years. All this is based on bibliographical and documental research in a qualitative approach. In the end, as a preliminary result, we conclude that the Supreme Court can and should act as a political mediator in moments of crisis, since the Constitution has endowed it with mechanisms to do so. However, an isolated action of the Court cannot be considered a lasting solution for a country that intends to be more democratic, plural and stable.