CONSUMER LAW AND HYPERVULNERABILITY: PATHWAYS TO SOCIAL JUSTICE IN BRAZIL’S LEGAL AMAZON

Abstract

This study examines consumer law as a tool for promoting citizenship in contexts of hypervulnerability, focusing on Brazil’s Legal Amazon. Using a qualitative, theoretical-reflective approach, it integrates three conceptual axes: justice as fairness (Rawls), inclusive legal hermeneutics (Moreira), and critical perspectives on law in peripheral societies (Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Boito). The analysis combines a bibliographic review with a normative examination of the Federal Constitution, the Consumer Protection Code, and complementary regulations, interpreted in light of the Amazon’s socio-economic and cultural realities. Findings show that normative uniformity, when applied without contextual adaptation, fails to address historical and territorial inequalities and often reinforces them. Structural barriers — such as geographic distance, insufficient public services, and language obstacles — limit access to consumer protection. The concept of hypervulnerability proves essential to understanding the compounded fragility affecting Indigenous, riverside, and rural communities. The study concludes that effective consumer protection in the Legal Amazon depends less on new legislation and more on adapted, territorially grounded, and culturally sensitive public policies capable of turning formal rights into emancipatory practices. The relevance of this research lies in its articulation between critical theory and institutional practice, offering concrete insights for reshaping public policies toward social justice in peripheral regions.