The Brazilian homosexual movement and its impact on construction of anti-discriminatory policy agendas in the national constituent assembly of 1987-1988

This work investigates the social and political impact of the emerging concept of "sexual orientation" and its use by the Brazilian Homosexual Movement,  in the national political scene of the 1980s during the discussions on the 1987-1988 National Constituent Assembly (ANC). At that time, attempts to produce judicial and institutional apparatuses against sexual orientation discrimination did not obtain concrete political and cultural results, but laid the groundwork for the mobilizations that followed during the decades of 1990 and 2000. The objective of this research is to understand why, in spite of opening up opportunities favorable policies, the homosexual movement did not achieve the expected success, although it has produced new repertoires of action in the following decades. The central hypothesis is that the moment of political opening given in ANC1987-1988 produced a set of interactions of competition of resources between the homosexual movement, counter-demonstrations and other social movements such as the black movement, trade union and women that interfered with the construction of strategies of the Brazilian Homosexual Movement and consequently the results of mobilization. The competition for political allies and space in the public agenda had framed the initiatives and strategies of the homosexual movement. The need for consolidation of the democratization rhetoric undermined the efforts of the homosexual movement in building broad coalitions in support of their demands. The cooperation and conflict between these political actors have determined the course of construction of the concept of "sexual orientation" and the discursive strategies of the homosexual movement and the impact that  the concept has received during ANC -1987-1988.