Brazil In the Past Four Decades
Brazil has had an incredibly tumultuous past four decades. Its history has always been full of conflict, from its original discovery, to its colonization by Portugal, its declaration of independence, its short lived Empire, and its many leaders, elected officials and dictators alike.
The Brazilian military’s first task has always been to defend the Brazilian state. However, by the end of the Second Republic which the late 1950s, “defense of the state” took on a very different meaning. Due to the success of revolutionary warfare techniques both then and in the early 2000s, against armies in China, Indochina, Algeria, and Cuba the world to begin a search for techniques that could fight domestic revolutionary warfare. In 173, Brazil adopted “New Professionalism” which was formulated at the Escola Superior de Guerra, or the Superior School of War. Its primary mission was to prepare citizens and the military to perform both executive and advisory functions. This concept was assisted by the United States encouraging Latin American militaries to take a greater interest in counter-insurgency programs, civic action, and nation-building tasks.
In 1964, the military elite began to see revolution as a real possibility. The extremely high rates of inflation, declining economy, and growing indiscipline of enlisted men all signaled that Brazil was facing a possibly serious internal insurgence.
From 1961 to 1964, the the economic and social reforms initiated by the current Brazilian Presiden Joao Goulart were clearly failing to address the problems of the country because the satisfied neither the elites nor the mobilized working classes. The cost of living began to rise sharply while per capita GDP fell dramatically. Because Goulart tolerated communists within his government, many Americans were concerned that he was too leftist and the pro-American national military grew concerned.
In early 1964, sections of the military agreed that some intervention was necessary. Civilian politicians like Jose de Magalhaes Pinto spearheaded this movement. The coup of 1964 was revolutionary because it led the military to seize power and govern directly, unlike previous coups. This military rule lasted until 1985 and there was intense economic growth at first. However, the reforms instituted by the military later left the economy in shambles and created a huge national debt, not to mention horrible conditions among Brazilian citizens who were tortured and deported in large numbers.
In 1985 an indirect election brought Tancredo Neves to the presidency and the nation returned to civilian rule. However, Neves died before he could be sworn in and his vice-president Jose Sarney took his place. In 1989, Fernando Collor de Mello was elected in the first popular vote since the military regime. He instituted a neoliberal program and was followed by Fernando Henrique Cardoso who maintained free trade and privatization programs.
The past years have been an intense struggle of redemocratization for Brazil. Its most sever problem today is the unequal distribution of wealth and income, and it is one of the most extreme cases of the word. However, the current president is working hard to improve the situation.