Social inequality and democratic legitimacy: a reading of constitutional amendment n° 95 of 2016 from Thomas Piketty and Jürgen Habermas

Abstract

This article aims to analyze Constitutional Amendment No. 95 of 2016, relating it to the problem of economic inequality that exists in Brazil. Thomas Piketty's work is based on the results of a worldwide pattern of concentration of income from work and capital in the hands of the wealthiest strata of the population, a characteristic that is present in Brazil. We question (i) the democratic legitimacy of the aforementioned amendment, based on the exposition of themes concerning the financial system and the Brazilian public debt system. Finally, questions are raised about the official discourse propagated by the Federal Government and the mainstream media, with regard to the need for approval of the amendment and its consequences, inquiring about the validity of the theory of democracy based on deliberative politics, elaborated by Jürgen Habermas, before the Brazilian political and socioeconomic reality. It was concluded that Constitutional Amendment No. 95 of 2016 is clearly illegitimate from a democratic point of view, since during the process of social and legislative discussion, the introduction by the Government and the mainstream media of relevant issues was not verified, as the great social inequality existing in the country and the worsening of it due to the reduction of social investments; as well as the cyclical characteristic of capitalism in relation to the occurrence of financial crises; the situation of the Brazilian public debt; and the performance of the State in the Financial System as a major fundraiser of financial capital.