Weakening constitutional rules through anti-corruption and impunity discourses: Analyzing the impact of the “Operação Lava-jato” (Car Wash Operation) on the presumption of innocence in Brazil

Abstract

We use a sociolegal perspective to critically analyze how narratives supporting the need to reduce and punish corruption in Brazil, particularly the ones deployed in the course of the “Operação Lava Jato” (LJ – Car Wash Operation), influenced the weakening of the presumption of innocence. Originally deployed to investigate a criminal organization using a network of gas stations and car wash companies for money laundering, the LJ was rapidly transformed in a major law enforcement operation, and it was used to unravel endemic corruption found in private and state-owned companies. Using a variety of communication resources, the Federal Prosecution Office in charge of the operation developed a set of strategic tactics to promote the discourse that the rule of presumption of innocence was one of the main motives behind the high levels of corruption and impunity in Brazil. This narrative, for example, influenced the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) during the judgment of the case involving Brazilian former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The social pressure caused by the use of strategic communication tools was crucial to lead the court to overrule the meaning of presumption of innocence. The article examines how these tools were able to promote social traction and how they can be used to influence and shape the meaning and effectiveness of legal rules.