INELIGIBILITY AND THE CLEAN SLATE LAW: PARADOXES BETWEEN ADMINISTRATIVE MORALITY, PROBITY, AND DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Abstract

This work seeks to understand the tensions and contradictions that emerge between administrative morality, probity, and the right to political participation, based on an analysis of Complementary Law No. 135/2010, known as the Clean Slate Law. More than a legal milestone, this legislation represents a social response to the need for greater integrity and transparency in public life. However, it has given rise to relevant constitutional debates, especially when public morality clashes with fundamental rights such as the presumption of innocence and political participation. The research was developed through a qualitative approach, using the deductive method and based on bibliographic and documentary analysis. Constitutional provisions, decisions of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), as well as relevant doctrinal contributions, were examined. The results indicate that, although the Clean Slate Law represents an important democratic advance in promoting ethics in politics, its effectiveness depends on a thoughtful and constitutionally balanced application, capable of harmonizing public morality with individual guarantees, preserving the essential core of Brazilian democracy.