COVER N. 530 - BRASIL

Postmark: AC Central de São Paulo SE/SPM 28.10.2024

Posted on the 28th October; Received on the 8th November 2024

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Seems I'm on a South America streak.... after Argentina, Brasil (yes, I like to write it with an "s" for that is the way it is written in both Brasil and Portugal, that is to say, that is the way it is written in Portuguese.

Muito obrigado Luis por este belo envelope e pelos excelentes selos que nele vinham!

The Constitution... the fundamental law of a country, a precept that can be traced back to the days of  Robin Hood in the Magna Carta signed by King John in 1215, through which rights like that of property or protection against excessive taxation and the independence of the church from the Government were set in writing... so that Robin of Locksley didn't have to call on his band of merry men to defend the people's basic rights...

Now we all know that in spite of the abundance of constitutions sometimes Robins and Tucks are indeed needed, but at least in theory, it's good practice to have a state rooted in a fundamental law that establishes the rights and duties for its citizens, so that we all know the rules of the game, even though a not insignificant number of states do not have a written constitution. In fact, of the 193 member states of the UN, 33 do not have their fundamental law in writing.

But Brazil does and its first constitution, dated of 1824, was approved only two years after  Pedro I uttered his famous cry of the Ipiranga, considered to be the foundational moment for the new South American country, which, until then and since 1815, was a Kingdom integrated in the United Kingdom of Brasil, Portugal and the Algarves. 

Inspired by liberalism and the French constitution of 1791, the 1824 diploma although establishing the separation between the three powers, legislative, executive and judicial, as befits a modern state, also created a fourth power, the Moderating Power, which was the monarchs prerogative, and which set him above the other three constitutional powers, so as to solve dead ends whenever needed. Much as the UN’s  Security Council veto right I’d think….so I wonder if this was really  a good idea….

The first constitution of Brazil, also the first of the seven that the country so far has adopted, would be in force for 65 years until being replaced by the Constitution of 1891, issued after the proclamation of the Republic of Brazil, in 1889.

Although only in force for a period of three years, the constitution of 1934 was remarkable for having brought about a number of progressive reforms such as the universality of vote for citizens older than 18, irrespective of sex, or the establishment of a minimum wage.

The current Constitution of the Federal Republic of Brazil was adopted in 1968, under the government of President José Sarney. It again lays the fundaments for a modern democratic state, after the years of military dictatorship following the military coup of 1964.

These three Constitutions are the subject of the three 3,40 Reais se-tenant stamp set, included in a souvenir sheet, issued on 25MAR2024, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Brazil's first Fundamental Charter,  which Luis used to send me this nice cover. 

The stamps bear the image of these three documents in book form and a legend highlighting the most prominent feature of each of them: Consolidation of the independence (Constitution of 1824); Minimum wage and woman's right to vote (1934) and family and worker's welfare (1988)

The 0,05 Real, illustrated with the image of a seamstress is part of the definitive series issued between 2005 and 2011, dedicated to Professions. It is part of  the first set of three stamps of the series, issued on 30DEC2005.