The role of the army in politics of Brazil in the XXI century

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Abstract

The participation of the Brazilian Armed Forces in the socio-political process of the country is analyzed. The current state is monitored, the evolution of the main parameters of this state institution is shown: the number of military personnel on active duty, military spending and its share in the GDP structure, as well as the perception of the army in Brazilian society and the level of trust in it. It is proven that the significant role of the military in the country’s politics is due to constitutional grounds. Article No. 142 of the Basic Law of Brazil serves as a criterion for identifying the main forms of participation of the army in modern military-civil relations. Regularly conducted during the first quarter of the XXI century, force operations to ensure order and legality mediate the role of the military in ensuring home security. It is noted that the peak of the militarization of Brazilian politics, which occurred during the right-wing governments in the period from 2018 to 2022, when the political influence of the military increased, there was an expansion of their representation in administrative positions in the government of J. Bolsonaro, including ministerial posts of a civilian profile. It is concluded that, despite attempts to limit the political influence of the military during the third mandate of President Lula da Silva, the latent role of the armed forces as a significant political actor will continue in the medium term.

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Andrey N. Piatakov

Institute of Latin American Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: anpyatakov@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3934-958X

Candidate of Sciences (Political Science), Leading Research Fellow, Analytic Department

Russian Federation, 115035, 21/16, B. Ordynka St., Moscow

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