The council of ethics and parliamentary decorum as a mechanism of accountability for “hate speech”

Abstract

The objective of this article is to discuss the operation of the Ethics and Parliamentary Decorum Council of the Chamber of Deputies in relation to breaches of parliamentary decorum for discrimination against minorities. Specifically, it considers the difficulty to hold deputies accountable for hate speech against LGBT, women, Black women, and victims of the civil and military dictatorship. The methodology is bibliographic and documentary. The main results are: the Council examined is an institutional mechanism for accountability, and for investigating and deliberating over cases of misconduct based on complaints filed against deputies. Despite compliance with all procedural rules during the accountability process, complaints are usually left unconcluded, indicating that, substantively, deputies are not held accountable. This creates a situation of “institutional humiliation” by communicating that the right to freedom of expression is absolute.