Los sentidos normativos de la solidaridad en el nuevo constitucionalismo latinoamericano. Un análisis comparado

This paper delves, from a comparative perspective, into the normative meanings of the principle of solidarity in the constitutions of the new Latin American constitutional-ism: Colombia (1991), Venezuela (1999), Ecuador (2008), and Bolivia (2009). The study first explores the historical, social, and political contexts that gave rise to these constituent pro-cesses. It then identifies the common elements of these constitutions, particularly the relation-ship between solidarity, the social rule of law, and social rights, and proposes a taxonomy of its normative meanings. The analysis concludes that the constitutions of this wave recognize that solidarity serves to underlie the existence of the welfare state by incorporating it as a com-ponent; to regulate the behavior of individuals/citizens as members of a community so that they contribute to achieving social goals; and to infuse content into social rights, giving them substantive content and thus confirming their effective normative value.