O Liberalismo de Carlos Lacerda

Abstract

This article presents Carlos Lacerda's rhetorical strategies and main political ideas. The argument is based on the role of liberalism in the thinking and political practices of the author, who is seen before as a "liberal critic of politics", to use Carl Schmitt's celebrated concept, rather than as a carrier of a systematic political theory. Throughout the text, one tries to delineate how Lacerda interpreted actors and themes of the period between 1946 and 1964 through the analysis of its main themes and political developments. To this end, parliamentary discourses, journalistic articles and programmatic texts are examine with the aim of revealing the fundamental aspects of Lacerda's worldview as well as the historical context in which he lived. By grasping Lacerda's own thinking and historical role we will be able to better understand the political regime then in force, its place within Brazil's democratic odyssey, and some of the reasons for its end.