The Brazilian military under Cardoso: Overcoming the identity crisis

Abstract

In Brazil, an era of military confusion and dissatisfaction that followed the end of the Cold War has largely dissipated since the mid-1990s. Despite scarce federal resources under current economic policies, the Cardoso government has managed to eliminate the most immediate budgetary causes of military unrest. Military authoritarian influence remains, moreover, in areas such as Amazonia. The military's own efforts, the president's moral and economic support, and the legislature's traditional apathy toward relevant issues have fostered a new form of military influence in the Brazilian democracy.