Abstract
The Portuguese legal system establishes in its constitution and through a dedicated ordinary law, the right of opposition (Law 24/98, of May 26). The application of this regime, in particular to local politics where the tensions between Government and Opposition are felt more acutely, has not received sufficient attention both in normative and empirical terms. 20 years after its adoption, this article seeks to analyse, longitudinally, the solutions established in this legal regime and to propose a set of changes to the current Law.
Highlights
A oposição política é uma das componentes fundamentais de qualquer democracia de matriz liberal-constitucional
Como referiu Ian Shapiro, a ideia de oposição é tão central à noção de democracia como a de governo: Democracy is an ideology of opposition as much as it is one of government
It is about displacing entrenched elites, undermining the powerful, and empowering the powerless [Shapiro, 1996, p. 51]
Summary
O direito de oposição nos municípios portugueses. The right of opposition in Portuguese municipalities. The Portuguese legal system establishes in its constitution and through a dedicated ordinary law, the right of opposition (Law 24/98, of May 26). The application of this regime, in particular to local politics where the tensions between Government and Opposition are felt more acutely, has not received sufficient attention both in normative and empirical terms. 20 years after its adoption, this article seeks to analyse, longitudinally, the solutions established in this legal regime and to propose a set of changes to the current Law. keywords: opposition; democracy; local government; municipalities The application of this regime, in particular to local politics where the tensions between Government and Opposition are felt more acutely, has not received sufficient attention both in normative and empirical terms. 20 years after its adoption, this article seeks to analyse, longitudinally, the solutions established in this legal regime and to propose a set of changes to the current Law. keywords: opposition; democracy; local government; municipalities
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