Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article analyzes, from a sociological perspective, the emergence and challenges of the New Latin American Constitutionalism (NLAC) in recent decades. It starts from the hypothesis that the constituent processes of Venezuela (1999), Ecuador (2008), Bolivia (2009), and Cuba (2019), as well as the constitutional debates in Chile, Colombia, and Peru, express attempts to break with the colonial and Eurocentric legacy that has historically shaped constitutionalism in the region. Through a literature review and a historical-comparative analysis, the study discusses the colonial context of Latin America’s formation, the trajectory of the NLAC, and its articulation with counter-hegemonic, decolonial, and popular epistemologies. The results indicate that this still incipient movement incorporates plurinationality, the rights of nature, and the leading role of social movements, while facing the resistance of conservative forces and the limits imposed by the legal form within the capitalist mode of production. It concludes that Sociology is an essential tool for understanding the contradictions and future prospects of Latin American constitutionalism. Keywords: New Latin American Constitutionalism. Legal sociology. Counter-hegemonic epistemologies. Latin America.
Authors: Gustavo Menon, Wagner Iglecias
Institutions: Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Católica de Brasília
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7223019466