REFLECTIONS ON DEMOCRATIC EXERCISE: A THEORETICAL CRITIQUE OF THE LIMITS OF LAW AND THE CURRENT LEGAL AND POLITICAL CONJUNCTURE

Abstract

This article comply theoretical research of the possibilities and limits of democratic exercise according to our current political and legal environment. Such scenario comprises: international order; universal human rights, neoliberal ideology; modern and western paradigms; among other elements that should be considered when analyzing the discriminatory, exclusionary and oppressive patterns of social relations nowadays. The theme of democracy is investigated under the bias of critical legal theory that considers political contours and power relations. Thus, it is investigated the capture of thought and act by liberal democracies and international human rights law, as well as the encasement of resistance by introduced powers. In the meantime, appears the need to overcome the institutionalities of constitutional law and international order, including its mechanisms taken as democratic, for they not only fail to achieve the libertarian promise of it speech, but often legitimates expressions of violence and social and economic inequalities. Therefore this article aims to contribute to critical reflection about the possibilities of overcoming institutional encapsulation and enhancing the will of the streets in recent protests.