Considerations on the mobilization of the Constitutional Guardian concept in the thinking of Afonso Arinos de Melo Franco (1960-1967)

Abstract

Based on the method of analysis of the morphology of political ideologies by Michael Freeden and the conceptual or philosophical history of politics by Pierre Rosanvallon, as well as the theoretical framework related to Brazilian political-constitutional thought, especially liberalism, the article seeks to outline some considerations about the use of the concept of guardian of the Constitution, also defined as moderating power or fourth power, in the thinking of Afonso Arinos de Melo Franco in the unfolding of the Brazilian political crisis that culminated in the military coup of 1964. The work specifically intends to analyze the Melo Franco’s writings and speeches in the temporal arc that covers the period in which he was a senator of the Republic (1960-1967), with the objective of understanding not only the handling of the concept, but his conception regarding three elements of the country, all related to conceptual mobilization: 1) the role of the Federal Supreme Court, in the present and past, to arbitrate political conflicts; 2) the legitimacy of the military to intervene in times of crisis; and 3) the solution of the parliamentary system, defended by him since the 1950s. The article aims, therefore, to explore these three aspects in a contextual and tensioned way to understand the use of the concept.