The decline of democracy, the mass phenomenon and the brazilian case

Abstract

This paper is concerned with understanding the factors that triggered the crisis of the liberal model of democracy and the consequent rise of populist leaders in the 21st century, in order to understand this movement as a mass phenomenon and the system degradation it generates. Therefore, focus was given to the process of democratic erosion experienced by Brazil, which culminated in the election of an extreme right-wing president in 2018: Jair Bolsonaro. To make this analysis feasible, the theoretical-deductive method was used, with an analytical-interpretative approach, in bibliographic research. In turn, the work of Robert Alexy was used as theoretical framework, with emphasis on the approach of fundamental rights and the Democratic Legal State as the only state model in which the fulfillment of those rights is possible.