Coalition presidentialism and the engine room of the Constitution

Abstract

The present study starts from the historical-constitutional analysis, seeking to highlight the importance of an organic constitutional part as effective as the dogmatic part promises, notably in relation to the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988. Such concepts need to be studied carefully, so this article aims to theoretical framework the concept of the engine room developed by Roberto Gargarella in the book “Latin American Constitutionalism: social rights and the“ engine room ”of the Constitution. Two centuries of constitutionalism in Latin America (1810-2010) ”, an important work for all Latin American and world legal literature, despite the criticism from part of that literature.

 Research on how the constitutions of Brazil and of neighboring countries took place and developed throughout history is of fundamental importance to assess the direction that is intended to be taken in the future. Undoubtedly, the issue is intrinsic to public law in general and touches on issues such as the rule of law and public choice, which are fundamental to public law in general, but the main objective of this paper is to analyze the extent to which coalition presidentialism, the way it is exercised today in Brazil, contributes to the maintenance of the so-called constitutional engine room. To this end, works of renowned names from the legal literature will be studied, promoting a posture of law more committed to reality and to the concrete implementation of its commandments.