Elementos das condições institucionais e ideológicas para uma história do discurso político no Brasil colonial e imperial

Abstract

This article aims to identify elemental traits concerning institutional conditions and ideological stances associated with the development of a history of political discourse in Brazil during the colonial and imperial periods. The criterion for analyzing institutions is directly related to their deliberative nature, given that the occurrence of antagonistic positions in a polemical discourse is an essential condition for their identification as a political element, as proposed by the Argentine theorist Eliseo Verón. During the colonial period, emphasis is placed on the role of municipal chambers, which were fundamental organs in the Brazilian political reality until independence. Regarding the imperial period, the article focuses on the clash between conservatives and liberals, a factor that defined the physiognomy of national political institutions based on specific ideological matrices and social anchors. This brief historiographical journey will reveal an elitist conformation of Brazilian politics, which hinders the right to participation for socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.