Some Permanent Political Characteristics of Contemporary Brazil

1964 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-301
Author(s):  
Jordan M. Young

The positive and often decisive role of the military in the Brazilian political process has been demonstrated again by the overthrow of the João Goulart government on April 2, 1964. Chaos and confusion building up from the time President Goulart took power in August, 1961, finally culminated in his ouster by the Brazilian armed forces.The political history of modern Brazil centers on the military. The army toppled the monarchy in 1889 and in 1894 handed the administration of the country over to civilians who governed with minor challenges until 1930. The army managed the coup d'état of 1930 which brought Getúlio Vargas to power. It removed Vargas in 1945 and returned Brazil to a democratic political process. The army moved in November, 1955, to assure the assumption of office by President-elect Juscelino Kubitschek. The presidential elections of 1960 were guaranteed by the military even though a former Minister of War, General Enrique Lott, was decisively defeated by a civilian, Jánio Quadros.

Author(s):  
Franciel José Ganancini

Resumo: Este artigo aborda uma parte da história política do Brasil, situando o período compreendido entre os governos de Getúlio Vargas, a partir de 1930, e o golpe civil-militar de 1964. O referido período esteve marcado por profundas mudanças econômicas, políticas e culturais, seja no Brasil, seja no restante do mundo. No artigo abordaremos a ascensão de Getúlio Vargas, o seu relacionamento com os militares, bem como o fortalecimento das Forças Armadas e sua atuação na política brasileira do século XX. Palavras-chave: Getúlio Vargas. Forças Armadas. Golpe de 1964. FROM A CIVIL DICTATOR TO MILITARY DICTATORS Abstract: This article discusses some of the political history of Brazil, closing the period between Getulio Vargas’s governments, in 1930, and civil-military coup in 1964. This period was marked by deep economic, political and cultural changes, both in Brazil and in the world. In this article we discuss the rise of Getulio Vargas’s government, his relationship with the military, as well as the strengthening of the armed forces and its role in the twentieth century Brazilian politics. Keywords: Getúlio Vargas. Military Forces. Coup of 1964.


Author(s):  
João Roberto Martins Filho

The coup that took place in Brazil on March 31, 1964 can be understood as a typical Cold War event. Supported by civilians, the action was carried out by the armed forces. Its origins hark back to the failed military revolt, headed by the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), in November of 1935, stirring up strong anticommunist sentiments. The Estado Novo coup, which occurred two years later, was supported by the army (war) and navy ministers. It marked the beginnings of the dictatorial phase of Getúlio Vargas, who had been in power since 1930. At the end of the Second World War, officers who had taken part in the struggle against Nazism in Italy returned to Brazil and overthrew the dictatorial Vargas regime, who nonetheless returned to power through the 1950 presidential elections. In 1954, under pressure from right-wing military forces, he committed suicide, thereby frustrating existing plans for another coup d’état. The Superior War School (ESG), created in 1949, had become both the birthplace of the ideology of National Security and stage where the French doctrine of guerre révolutionnaire was welcomed. During the 1950s, the military came to be divided into pro-American and nationalist factions. The alliance between the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB) and the centrist Social Democratic Party (PSD), which had elected Vargas earlier, now enabled Juscelino Kubitschek’s victory in the 1955 elections, disappointing the conservatives of the National Democratic Union (UDN) and its military allies. The latter were briefly encouraged when the 1960 presidential election put Jânio Quadros at the head of the executive. In August 1961, when Quadros resigned, his military ministers tried to use force to keep Vice-President João Goulart, Vargas’s political heir at the head of the PTB, from taking office. The coup was frustrated by the resistance of the governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Yet the Goulart administration was marked by instability, in the midst of intense social struggles and by a sharp economic crisis. The outcome of this drama began to take shape in March 1963, when the government took a leftwards turn. A massive demonstration in downtown Rio de Janeiro on March 13 served as an alert, and the March 25 sailors’ revolt as the match in the powder keg. On March 31, military forces carried out the infamous coup. The Goulart administration collapsed. Social movements were left waiting for orders to resist that never came.


1973 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham F. Lowenthal

Several years ago, in a general essay on Dominican politics, I wrote a few pages about the political role of the Dominican Armed Forces. I argued that “the history of the past few years in the Dominican Republic may best be viewed as a constant struggle among changing alliances, not in terms of confrontation between civilian authority and the military establishment” (Lowenthal, 1969: 40). I suggested that “far from being a professional institution dedicated to certain principles that impel its occasional entry into politics, the Dominican Armed Forces have never had any significant function beyond politics, except for plunder” (Lowenthal, 1969: 40). Painting a picture of constant struggle within the Dominican Armed Forces, for power and a chance at the spoils, I played down the importance, for understanding the political role of Dominican military officers, of institutional and ideological considerations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-779
Author(s):  
Andrzej Wojtaszak

Personnel policy in the Polish Army in the years 1918–1939 Personnel policy is one of the most sensitive elements shaping the military personnel of each army, and we can distinguish several stages of this policy in the Polish Army in the years 1918–1939. The first was related to the regaining of independence by Poland and fights for its borders. At that time, the organizational structures of the army were created and verification commissions were set up, which defined the possibilities of serving in the Polish Army, especially in regard to former soldiers from the forces of partitioning powers. The next period was associated with the transition of the army to the so-called peace organization, when the basis for the promotion pragmatics was defined by law. The third of the stages began after 1926, when after the coup d’état, Marshal Józef Piłsudski and his entourage gained a decisive role in the promotion policy, mainly based on legionary provenance. At that time, many officers left the military, especially those generals who previously commanded the armies of partitioning powers. The organizational system of the Polish Army also changed, as alongside the Ministry of Military Affairs and the General Staff (Main), a new dominant organ was appointed –the General Inspectorate of the Armed Forces –to prepare the army for a future war. After the death of Józef Piłsudski in 1935, the pragmatist approach was advocated by his successor Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły, who tried to introduce clear promotion regulations regarding personnel policy in the Polish Army.


Author(s):  
David Taylor

This chapter examines Pakistan’s history of regime change and the military’s persistent influence on the country’s political process. Since its creation in 1947, Pakistan has struggled to develop a system of sustainable democratic government. It has experienced a succession of regime changes, alternating between qualified or electoral democracy and either military or quasi-military rule. Underlying apparent instability and regime change in Pakistan is the dominance of the military in domestic politics. Ironically, the reintroduction of military rule has often been welcomed in Pakistan as a relief from the factional disputes among the civilian political leaders and accompanying high levels of corruption. The chapter first traces the history of Pakistan from independence to its breakup in 1971 before discussing government instability from 1971 to 1999. It then describes General Pervez Musharraf ’s rule from 1999 to 2008 and concludes with an assessment of the armed forces’ continuing involvement in Pakistani politics.


2017 ◽  
pp. 107-119
Author(s):  
Anatolii Demeshchuk

In this article the author regards a history of creating and organizing the regular Armed Forces of Croatian Republic in 1991. The main attention is focused on a land army – the Croatian Army, which was formed in September 1991 on the basis of the National Guard, Territorial defense and different volunteer formations united. The focus has been made on a decisive role of the land forces during the war in Croatia in 1991-1995. The warfare spectrum has been almost entirely overland. However, creating the Croatian navy and air forces has also been shortly described in the article, although the role thereof has been rather insignificant, especially in 1991. Also the article deals with the issue of the Croatian special police forces which played an important role in all the periods of war in Croatia (1991-1995). The issues of Croatian forces’ material provision, ways of armament, their organizational structure and military quality have been analyzed. The course of the Croatian regular army’s forming has been overviewed in chronological and logical sequence. It is concluded that the matter and outcomes of own armed forces’ building by Croatia during its war for independence has been crucial. It is argued that the effective Croatian government’s decisions in a domain of the armed forces in 1991 significantly assisted Croatia to win the war in 1995. The article is based mostly on the Croatian and English academiic and op-ed literature and sources.


Author(s):  
Filip Ejdus

When, how, why, and to what effect did the military involve itself in Serbia’s politics? Due to its decisive role in national liberation and state-building, the Serbian military has always enjoyed high societal reputation. Since the 19th century, the military also played an important role of a nation-builder and social elevator for the lower strata of society. However, Serbia also has a very long tradition of military involvement in politics with several coups that decisively shaped the course of national history. Since the outset of Serbia’s state-building in the first half of the 19th century, Serbia experienced four successful military coups and many occasions when its armed forces were used to quash domestic unrest. The reasons behind the robust involvement of armed forces in Serbian (and Yugoslav politics) have been diverse and ranged from an ambition to provide internal stability and defend national or corporate interests to a desire to change the country’s foreign policy orientation. Since the end of the Cold War, the military played an ambiguous role on some occasions undermining democracy, while on others being an agent of democratic transformation. Since 2006, the military of Serbia has been placed under civilian democratic control and seems to have internalized its role of a politically neutral and professional force with a mission to defend the country, support civilian authorities in the event of emergency, and contribute to international peace and security. Still, the ongoing democratic backsliding, the lack of clarity about the state’s strategic outlook, and the still unresolved status of Serbia’s former province Kosovo all preserve the potential for civil-military tensions in the future.


2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHAN RUDERER

AbstractThis article analyses the history of the military clergy and contrasts its role in the Argentine and Chilean dictatorships on the basis of new, previously inaccessible sources. It is argued here that, in addition to its ideological orientation, two further factors explain differences in the influence of the military clergy on the two regimes: first, the structural position that the Military Vicariates occupied between the Church and the armed forces, and, second, the two dictatorships’ different needs for legitimisation. The analysis provides information relevant to understanding the public role of the Catholic Church and the dimensions of violence during the regimes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Igor V. Vostrikov

<p>This article interests in history of armed forces of the antiquity states, their structure, deployment order, the organization of command, evolution of arms, policy strokes, action of armies in the military conflicts, and to their use in internal political fight, as well as to involvement of mercenaries. During the Classical Period of Greek history big fame was gained by armed forces of Athens and Sparta. Athens in the 5th century BC was at the peak of power and pursued active foreign policy which was in many respects supported by powerful army and fleet. The reason of traditionally high interest in history of Athens of the Classical Period including the armed forces history of the polis also lies in it. However Athens and their armed forces suffered a serious loss and got beaten in the Peloponnese war and the final decline of political and military power of Athens occurred after defeat in Lamian war therefore military activity of the polis sharply decreases. Therefore the history of Hellenistic period Athens gets much less attention. Proceeding from it, the purpose of article consists in a research of the role of mercenaries in armed forces of Athens in the period of Hellenism. The leading method of this research is the comparative-historical method allowing tracking mercenaries hire by Athens during the specified period on the basis of a complex sources use. The main research results consist in identification of an order and features of the hired contingents use, their places in armed forces of the polis. Materials of article can be useful to the further scientific research regarding the history of Athens and military ancient history as well as to creating educational and handbooks on this perspective.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-77
Author(s):  
G. Sh. Kadirova

The article is devoted to the history of coming to power and the analysis of the domestic and foreign policy of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt (ARE), Field Marshal Abd-аl Fattah al-Sisi. The author notes that the new leader of the country chose a tough internal political course aimed at strengthening his own power and suppressing the opposition, fi rst of all, the Muslim Brotherhood (the organization’s activities are prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation), and the 2014 Constitution and its 2019 amendments led to the virtual disappearance of the independent branches of power and its concentration in the hands of the president, as well as the consolidation in the Basic Law of provisions on the special role of the military in the life of society. Thus, the head of state and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces determine the political processes in the country, controlling civil institutions. Unlike the traditional ARE course, Abd-al Fattah al-Sisi is building a tougher and more uncompromising policy, demonstrating a readiness to use force, primarily in Libya, narrowing his scope for diplomatic maneuver.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document