Antitrust Law and Economic Power: the populist and the “new brandeis” movement

Abstract

The role of antitrust law has gained special attention to the growth and strengthening of large technology companies in digital markets. In Brazil, according to the Federal Constitution, one of the objectives of competition is to combat abuses of economic power. Thus, based on exploratory and dialectical methods, this article was developed for three distinct and complementary purposes: i) briefly and historically bring the foundations of antitrust law, ii) clarify the contours of the populist movement in antitrust law (also called “hispter” or “new brandeis”), and iii) pointing out how this movement can contribute to face the new challenges of antitrust law in the digital markets.