The Struggle for the Human Right to a Good Life for Everyone: Oscar Correas’s Legacy for the Crítica Jurídica Movement in Latin America

Abstract

Oscar Correas has been one of the promoters and main references of the Cr´ıtica Jur´ıdica movement in Latin America due to his theoretical contributions and his permanent activism to develop the movement. In this paper, we firstly review his vast academic and intellectual career, and then we go through and analyse some of Correas’s main contributions to the study of the law and the Marxist thought. Special focus will be given to: (a) his approach to Marx’s works and its extension to the analysis of modern law; (b) his understanding of Hans Kelsen’s theory; and (c) Correas’s critical contributions to the debate on human rights. We aim to highlight the originality and wit of Oscar Correas’s work, and its importance for the development of the legal critical studies and debates on legal and human rights challenges from a critical perspective.