Le Brésil à la recherche de la démocratie

Abstract

This article deals with the debate on democracy that took place in Brazil in the late 1970s, when it became clear to many sectors of society that the dictatorial regime in place since 1964 was nearing its end. The first part of the article looks back at the moments in Brazilian intellectual history that help us understand the evolution of the idea of democracy in various strands of Brazilian political thought throughout the twentieth century. In the second part, three thinkers are analyze: Raymundo Faoro, Marilena Chaui, and Carlos Nelson Coutinho, all of whom had prominent roles alongside other intellectuals in renewing the debate about the nature of democracy in Brazil.