I have happy memories of my first trip to Brasília. I had been invited to tour the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil, a majestic building that is truly awe-inspiring in its architectural splendor. Two rooms stand out to me as most memorable. The first is the Plenary Room, where the judges of the Court deliberate publicly on how they will resolve the disputes before them. The second is the Salão Nobre, a beautiful room where the judges of the Court greet guests, including their foreign counterparts and ambassadors.

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In the first pair of photos below, you see the Plenary Room on the day of my visit in 2016 and the Plenary Room last week on Sunday, January 8, 2023, just after the assault on the Court. The second pair of photos shows the Salão Nobre on the day of my visit and after the invasion of the Brazilian capital.

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My heart breaks for Brazil and its people. Fortunately, my friends in Brazil tell me that they have faith in their institutions--that their institutions are resilient and ready for whatever may come. Let us hope the worst is over.

This week, I have been re-reading this important book on Constitutional Erosion in Brazil, written by my colleague Emilio Peluso Neder Meyer. The book excavates the roots of the decay of democracy in Brazil--and it also maps a hopeful path forward for consolidating democracy in the country.

The Constitutional Studies Program at the University of Texas at Austin is pleased to announce our Spring 2023 Class of Distinguished Research Fellows.

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Pablo Alarcón Peña | Ecuador | Universidad Espíritu Santo 

Marta Machado | Brazil | Fundação Getulio Vargas

Andrea Pozas-Loyo | Mexico | UNAM

Rosa Ristawati | Indonesia | Universitas Airlangga

Serge Surin | France | Université Sorbonne Paris Nord

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 Our new book on A Written Constitution for Quebec? features top scholars on whether and how Quebec could codify its constitution. Published by McGill-Queen's University Press, the book offers a draft Constitution for Quebec written by Daniel Turp, in addition to stand-alone chapters taking comparative, doctrinal, historical, and theoretical perspectives on subnational constitution-making. I encourage you to invite one of these great scholars to discuss their views at your institution. Contact information is available for each of them, below. You will not be disappointed!

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Patrick F. Baud | Juliano Zaiden Benvindo | Hubert Cauchon | Erin F. Delaney | Débora Costa Ferreira | Alain-G. Gagnon | Hoi Kong | Jonathan Marshfield | F.L. Morton | Léonid Sirota | Maxime St-Hilaire | Patrick Taillon | Daniel Turp | Arjun Tremblay | Mark Walters | Nelson Wiseman