QUADRILÁTERO DO FEDERALISMO: UMA CONTRIBUIÇÃO PARA A COMPREENSÃO DO FEDERALISMO IMPERFEITO NO BRASIL

Abstract

This paper is part of a series of recent efforts aimed to improve the understanding of the Brazilian federal system. It is based upon the simple idea that there is not a crisis in the Brazilian federal system, in its proper sense. What occurs is the absence of an historical evidence regarding the solidity and the articulation of the basic principles of federalism. To demonstrate this hypothesis, the author assumes the thesis that federalism, to exist and work as a system, must comprise four basic principles: authonomy, cooperation, structural balance and coordination. To accomplish with that demontration the paper was structured in two parts: in the first one, a theoretical conceptualization of the four principles is presented; the second part gathers those concepts to analyse the Brazilian federal system. The conclusion is that the Brazilian system lacks of solidity and articulation among those four basic principles.