—Juliano Zaiden Benvindo, University of Brasília and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development Latin America is essentially presidential. All eighteen Latin American countries[1] adopt presidentialism as their system of government, but, comparatively to the U.S. Constitution’s “archetype,” Latin American presidents are normally granted expanded lawmaking and budgetary powers.[2] Brazil follows such a pattern, but

The Challenge of Interpretation and the 1988 Brazilian Constitution
[Editor’s Note: This is the second entry in our symposium on the “30th Anniversary of the Brazilian Constitution.” The introduction to the symposium is available here.] —Gustavo Ferreira Santos and João Paulo Allain Teixeira, Catholic University of Pernambuco, Federal University of Pernambuco, and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) Brazil enacted a new constitution in 1988, looking for