ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the role legal organizations played in promoting exchanges between Brazil and Argentina, both who were profoundly engaged in those debates. It argues the often-overlooked dialogues between Argentinian and Brazilian lawyers were crucial for articulating public actions domestically and for creating transnational forums for debate. The chapter provides background information on the Instituto dos Advogados Brasileiros and Colegio de Abogados de Buenos Aires (CABA), retracing the contexts of their development and emphasizing how both institutions acted in the public arena. Afranio de Melo Franco’s presence at CABA constitutes a typical example of how contacts between South American bar associations unraveled during the late 1910s. The strong presence of lawyers in the public acts surrounding Getulio Vargas’s trip is an important example of how bar associations were able to find alternative paths to enhance their cross-border exchanges.
