ABSTRACT
The limits of Brazilian democratic projects are clear and represent a new challenge to both the government and civil society. Law and institutions have been permanently challenged by a civic culture based on Hobbesian practices. The struggle for human rights is not the only global phenomenon. In fact, the economy remains the main arena of globalization. For this reason, lawyers at the Brazilian Bar National Conference signed a manifesto against the American Helms-Burton law, which ‘affects Brazilian enterprises and damages international peace’. The Bar has, simultaneously, mobilized both lawyers and society in general, through the organization of seminars on specific issues, and directly intervened in specific cases. Although the Brazilian Bar is formally part of the government, historically it has been insulated from governmental interference. The defense of lawyers’ interests above civil society’s interests has clearly damaged the Bar’s image among lawyers and the civil society.
