Structural failure of water resource policy in the Amazon and judicial review through structural remedies

Abstract

This article examines the persistent ineffectiveness of water resource management policy in the Amazon, evidenced by the limited implementation of its instruments, institutional fragility, and the degradation of water quality. It argues that this scenario cannot be reduced to isolated managerial failures, but constitutes a structural failure characterized by institutional inadequacy and an inability to achieve constitutionally required outcomes. The research problem is to determine the appropriate model of judicial review to address this situation. The objective is to demonstrate that such failure, when framed as a case of insufficient protection of the fundamental right to an ecologically balanced environment, justifies judicial intervention and requires decision-making techniques compatible with its systemic nature. The study adopts a deductive approach, based on bibliographic and documentary review, grounded in concretizing constitutional hermeneutics and the theory of fundamental rights. It first examines the legal framework of water governance, then the Amazonian context, subsequently frames the situation as a structural failure, discusses the admissibility of judicial review, and finally examines structural remedies as an appropriate technique. It concludes that structural remedies display particular aptitude for promoting the institutional reorganization necessary to overcome insufficient environmental protection and to enhance the effectiveness of water resource management policy in the Amazon.