Da autonomia à participação: breves reflexões sobre o federalismo brasileiro na perspectiva do constitucionalismo social-dirigente

Abstract

This paper presents brief reflections about the federal principle, from the perspective of hegemony of the Federal Constitution, considered in its structuring aspect of the whole political-juridical phenomenon of the Brazilian state. Therefore, it is started with some succinct considerations about the origins of Federalism in the context of the political movement of formation of the American Federal Republic, in its socio-historical traits most significant. Then, it describes a foreshortened historic of construction of the Brazilian Fed-eration, considering the real and ideological factors of conformation of the federal structure developed throughout our constitutional history. Therefrom, it is undertaken, then, an analy-sis of federalism established by the Constitution 1988, and finally it is concluded for the recognition of a model of federalism based on the normative force of the Constitution, in its structuring power and the juridical-constitutional legitimacy of participatory democracy, understood in an intimate association with the principle of solidarity.