Supremocracy and Autocratic Infralegalism: The Behavior of the Brazilian Supreme Court during Bolsonaro’s Government

Abstract

This paper assesses how the Brazilian Supreme Court decided lawsuits and constitutional claims filed against Bolsonaro’s attacks to the Constitution during his mandate (2019-22), both in content and in timing. Data shows that, after a first year marked by a more conciliatory rhetoric, the Supreme Court started adopting a more responsive posture. The more Bolsonaro escalated his attacks, the more responsive became the Supreme Court.