Derechos socioeconómicos en América Latina: cerrando la brecha entre aspiración y realidad
| Autor | David Landau |
| Cargo | Mason Ladd Professor and Associate Dean for International Programs, Florida State University College of Law, USA. |
| Páginas | 7-40 |
DAVID LANDAU*
Socioeconomic Rights in Latin America:
Closing the Gap between Aspiration
and Reality**
Derechos socioeconómicos
en América Latina: cerrando la brecha
entre aspiración y realidad
ABSTRACT
Latin America is the region where constitutional socioeconomic rights have
been taken most seriously. There is a high level of convergence around the
idea that socioeconomic rights belong in constitutions. Moreover, there is a
growing regional consensus that socioeconomic rights are fully justiciable.
The empirical record of judicial enforcement, on the other hand, shows
more variance and is less transformative than this consensus would suggest.
Courts most commonly follow models of enforcement that place relatively
low levels of strain on conceptions of judicial role but are also less likely to
have transformative effects. For example, many courts seem to prefer to give
petitioners an individual remedy rather than issuing a structural or collective
remedy. Even in countries where courts have issued an aggressive program
to enforce socioeconomic rights, such as Colombia, critics have argued that
courts have not achieved enough. After surveying the gap between consti-
tutionalization and on-the-ground enforcement, this essay considers solu-
tions. I conclude that the best response is holistic: it would seek to redesign
other institutions, such as ombudspersons and political parties, so that these
institutions are more responsive to socioeconomic rights, while maintain-
ing an important role for courts in catalyzing and coordinating attention to
socioeconomic issues.
* Mason Ladd Professor and Associate Dean for International Programs, Florida State
University College of Law, USA. Email: dlandau@law.fsu.edu. ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4990-0400.
** Received on June 26th, 2022, approved on June 27th, 2023.
To quote the article: Landau, D. Socioeconomic Rights in Latin America: Closing the Gap
between Aspiration and Reality. In Revista Derecho del Estado, Universidad Externado de
Colombia. No. 57, September - December, 2023, 7-40.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18601/01229893.N57.02
Revista Derecho del Estado n.º 57, september-december 2023, pp. 7-40
8David Landau
Revista Derecho del Estado n.º 57, september-december 2023, pp. 7-40
KEYWORDS
Socioecomomic rights, right to health, judicial role, transformative consti-
tutionalism, Latin American constitutionalism, Colombian Constitutional
Court, Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal.
RESUMEN
América Latina es la región donde los derechos socioeconómicos constitu-
cionales se han tomado más en serio. Existe un alto nivel de convergencia
en torno a la idea de que los derechos socioeconómicos pertenecen a las
constituciones. Además, existe un creciente consenso regional de que los
derechos socioeconómicos son plenamente justiciables. El registro empíri-
co de ejecución judicial, por otro lado, muestra más variación y es menos
transformador de lo que sugeriría este consenso. Los tribunales suelen seguir
modelos de ejecución que imponen niveles relativamente bajos de tensión en
las concepciones del papel judicial, pero también es menos probable que ten-
gan efectos transformadores. Por ejemplo, muchos tribunales parecen preferir
otorgar a los peticionarios un recurso individual en lugar de emitir un recurso
estructural o colectivo. Incluso en países donde los tribunales han emitido un
programa agresivo para hacer cumplir los derechos socioeconómicos, como
Colombia, los críticos han argumentado que los tribunales no han logrado
lo suficiente. Después de examinar la brecha entre la constitucionalización y
la aplicación en el terreno, este ensayo considera soluciones. Concluyo que
la mejor respuesta es holística: buscaría rediseñar otras instituciones, como
defensores del pueblo y partidos políticos, para que estas instituciones res-
pondan mejor a los derechos socioeconómicos, manteniendo al mismo tiempo
un papel importante para los tribunales en la catalización y coordinación de
la atención a los problemas socioeconómicos.
PALABRAS CLAVE
Derechos socioeconómicos, derecho a la salud, función judicial, constitucio-
nalismo transformador, constitucionalismo latinoamericano, Corte Constitu-
cional de Colombia, Supremo Tribunal Federal de Brasil.
SUMMARY
Introduction. 1. Near Universal Recognition and Widespread Enforcement.
2. Judicial Enforcement on the Ground: A Disappointment? 2.1. Individual
Remedies. 2.2. Defensive Social Rights. 2.3. Structural Enforcement. 3. Re-
thinking the Role of Courts. 3.1. Improving Courts. 3.2. Reframing Judicial
Enforcement of Socioeconomic Rights. 4. Thinking beyond Courts. 4.1. Party
9
Socioeconomic Rights in Latin America: Closing the Gap Between Aspiration and Reality
Revista Derecho del Estado n.º 56, mayo - agosto de 2023, pp. 7-40
Systems and Socioeconomic Rights. 4.2. Independent Accountability Insti-
tutions and Socioeconomic Rights. 4.3. Courts and Other Institutions in the
Enforcement of Socioeconomic Rights. Conclusion: Socioeconomic Rights
and Liberal Democracy in Latin America. References.
INTRODUCTION
Latin America is almost certainly the region of the world where socioeco-
nomic rights have been taken most seriously. In a region where human
rights have become a common discourse, and where economic inequality
and poverty are immediate issues in popular consciousness, legal scholars,
constitutional designers, and judges have increasingly made socioeconomic
rights central to constitutional projects. As demonstrated below, there is a
high level of convergence around the idea that socioeconomic rights belong
in constitutions; every major constitution in the region, regardless of under-
lying political tendency, now includes them. Moreover, there is a growing
regional consensus that socioeconomic rights are not just mission statements
for political guidance: they are fully justiciable.
The empirical record of judicial enforcement, on the other hand, shows
much more variance and is, on balance, less transformative than this consensus
would suggest. In some countries in the region, courts remain quite reluctant
to enforce socioeconomic rights, despite affirming that they are justiciable.
In countries where socioeconomic rights have been enforced aggressively,
courts most commonly follow models of enforcement that place relatively
low levels of strain on conceptions of judicial role but are also less likely to
have transformative effects. For example, many courts seem to prefer to give
petitioners an individual remedy rather than issuing a structural or collective
remedy. Even in countries where courts have issued an aggressive program
to enforce socioeconomic rights, such as Colombia, critics have argued that
courts have not achieved enough, and have been outweighed by other parts
of the constitutional order with contradictory agendas.
These patterns and results of judicialization pose a challenge to scholars
that view Latin American constitutions as (at least sometimes) embarked on
transformative forms of constitutionalism.1 And, since Latin America is the
region with the highest level of judicialization of socioeconomic rights in the
world, they also pose a challenge to those scholars and policymakers seeking
the inclusion and enforcement of socioeconomic rights. The prevailing tone
1 Von Bogdandy, A. ‘Ius Constitutionale Commune in America Latina: Observations on
Transformative Constitutionalism’ in Von Bogdandy, A. et al. (eds), Transformative Constitu-
tionalism in Latin America: The Emergence of a New Ius Commune, OUP, 2017, 27.
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