The Brazilian Transition to Democracy in 1945: Evidence of a “Near-Miss Critical Juncture”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5433/2176-6665.2023v28n2e47740Keywords:
Brazilian Estado Novo, 1946 Democracy, Democratization, centralization in federations, historical institutionalismAbstract
A conventional view identifies the Brazilian Federation’s trajectory with the systoles and diastoles of the cardiac muscle, with centralization waves in authoritarian regimes and decentralization moves in democratic periods. This article employs the methodology of the comparative research project Why De/Centralization in Federations to develop an in-depth investigation of the democratic transition in the aftermath of the Estado Novo. The analysis of the autonomy at the state level in three political-institutional subdimensions, 22 public policy areas, and five fiscal indicators reveals abundant continuity regarding the distribution of power in the federation. The study concludes that the cardiac metaphor oversimplifies these dynamics and that the concept of “near-miss critical juncture” – proposed by historical institutionalism to describe when change is likely and sought for but fails to materialize – is a more promising description for the transition to the so-called 1946 Democracy.
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Grant numbers 2021/08773-5, 2018/10358-3 e 2018/00381-8