SOCIAL RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY, AND LEGALITY:THE ROLE OF THE CIVIL POLICE OF MINAS GERAIS IN ASSET RECOVERY, IN STRENGTHENING THE CONSTITUTIONAL STATE, AND IN THE EFFECTIVE REALIZATION OF SOCIAL RIGHTS

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between social rights, democracy, and legality based on the actions of the Civil Police of Minas Gerais in combating money laundering and recovering illicit assets. It is grounded on the premise that the effectiveness of social rights, as established in the 1988 Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil, depends not only on the implementation of effective public policies but also on the State’s capacity to protect public funds and recover resources unlawfully diverted. In this context, the study analyzes the creation of the Anti–Money Laundering Technology Laboratory (LAB-LD) and the Asset Recovery Unit of the Civil Police of Minas Gerais, as well as the normative framework governing the recovery of seized assets. The research adopts a qualitative methodology of a theoretical-dogmatic and documentary nature, examining constitutional provisions, infra-constitutional legislation, state normative acts, and internal regulations of the Civil Police, in addition to a paradigmatic judicial decision of the State of Minas Gerais. It is argued that the recovery of assets acquired through criminal activity constitutes a relevant instrument for the realization of social rights and for strengthening democracy, as it enables the return of illicit resources to public coffers and their reintegration into the financing of essential public policies.