THE LONG CONSTITUINTE - STATE REFORM AND INSTITUTIONAL FLUIDITY IN BRAZIL

The article discusses the process of political and economic transition in Brazil since the close of the Constitutional Congress. Addressing the question from an institutionalist perspective, it is argued that t hese two dimensions of the transition are not the only ones which shou ld be considered in conjunction; a series of other factors must be tak en into account as well. First is the question of the sequential chain within the transition process: policies enacted at a given moment dep end upon circumstances generated earlier, both in content and in form, creating a relation of path-dependence. Second, this constraint holds greater sway during a transition period, given the fluid conditions u nder which politics are played out: the political climate and institut ions change over time. Third, the actors go through a process of insti tutional learning, which means the same institutional structures are n ot operated in the same fashion at different moments. It is necessary to devise a dynamic model for analyzing Brazil's political system duri ng this period. More valuable than any static model would be an analys is of the process which takes into account the intermixing of differen t political agendas (simultaneously and sequentially), institutional f luidity, and environmental transformations.