Engagement of Military Peacekeepers in Brazilian Politics (2011–2021)

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221087254
• Author: Rafael Duarte Villa,Anais M. Passos
• Date: 01 July 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221087254

Armed Forces & Society

2023, Vol. 49(3) 752 –775

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X221087254

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Article

Engagement of Military

Peacekeepers in Brazilian

Politics (2011–2021)

Rafael Duarte Villa1 and Anais M. Passos2

Abstract

Peacekeepers are seen as a UN tool for promoting domestic changes in host

countries, but little is known about the political consequences when officers

return home. During the last 10 years, Brazilian presidents appointed a significant

number of former peacekeepers to key political functions. How and why do former

peacekeepers end up so involved in government affairs? To answer this question,

this paper focuses on the array of skills acquired by peacekeepers in domestic

missions and reinforced abroad. Drawing on a set of semi-structured interviews

and questionnaires to military, former political decision-makers, and researchers,

as well as other primary and secondary sources, this paper details how political

articulation, experience in conflict management, and prestige empowered Brazilian

military officers to resume their tradition of intervention in politics. This paper

also shows that peace operations can produce deleterious outcomes for troop-

contributing countries in the Global South.

Keywords

armed forces, Brazil, MINUSTAH, political skills, peacekeeping operations,

peacekeepers

1Department of Political Science, University of São Paulo, Brazil

2Department of Sociology and Political Science, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis,

Brazil

Corresponding Authors:

Rafael Duarte Villa, Department of Political Science, University of São Paulo, Rua do Anfiteatro, 181,

Cidade Universitária, São Paulo 05508-060, Brazil.

Email: rafaelvi@usp.br

Anais M. Passos, Department of Sociology and Political Science, Federal University of Santa Catarina,

Campus Universitário, Caixa Postal 476, Florianópolis, SC 88010-970, Brazil.

Email: anais.passos@ufsc.br

1087254AFSXXX10.1177/0095327X221087254Armed Forces & SocietyVilla and Passos

research-article2022

Villa and Passos 753

Throughout the 20th century, generals, colonels, and captains intervened in the poli-

tics of African, Latin American, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries (Klay & Ogaba,

2004; Rouquié & Suffern, 1997; Stepan, 1988). Although the third wave of democ-

ratization1 put an end to military-led authoritarian regimes, military leaders still

secure political autonomy and corporate privileges in many countries. Establishing

and maintaining democratic control over the military in new democracies remain a

challenge, as military leaders often believe that they have the right to play a decisive

role in a country’s political life (Blair, 2013). The Brazilian military is now back in

politics, with the highest number of military ministers since the re-democratization,

while more than 6,000 active-duty military officers hold positions in the current

administration (Lis, 2020).

The politicization of the Brazilian military is not exceptional, but reflective of

Latin American dynamics. In countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, the

military has assumed a key political role that extends from interfering in episodes of

crisis to having a permanent veto power in government policies (Passos, 2021). It is,

however, remarkable that a significant proportion of the Brazilian military now in

politics has been assigned to peacekeeping missions before joining cabinets and min-

istries. In the most recent Brazilian governments (2011–2021), 20 peacekeepers were

appointed to high-level political posts. This paper aims to understand how and why

former military peacekeepers acquired such a crucial role in the Brazilian political

system during the latest governments, especially during the administration of Jair

Bolsonaro (2019–2022). By tasking the military with peacekeeping operations, are

Brazilian political elites also supporting their return to politics?

There is a history of military intervention in Brazilian politics. Driven by a sense

of superiority and their will to govern in the name of assumed national interests, mili-

tary officers intervened as a “destabilizing force” during the entire 20th century

(Carvalho, 2005). When the military dictatorship was defeated in 1985, the curricu-

lum of military schools remained virtually unchanged (Amaral, 2007). An increase

in violent crime in the principal urban centers led to an expansion of the military role

to policing-related activities from the 1990s onward. Operations to ensure law and

order (GLO operations) provided a new mission for the armed forces.

Brazilian military officers are now back to their usual business, occupying a sig-

nificant proportion of cabinets and ministries. There are some explanations regarding

the return of the Brazilian military to politics. Two of our military interviewees sug-

gest that the existing personal ties between certain military officers and the president

(who is a retired Army captain himself) are key to understanding the present politici-

zation of the military (Interview with former military peacekeeper Sérgio Aguilar,

personal communication, January 11, 2020). Neto and Acácio (2020, p. 8) argue that

the appointment of military peacekeepers is a tool for Brazilian elected presidents to

ensure governance. The current Brazilian party system is highly fragmented, com-

petitive, and volatile (Ames & Power, 2008). The president can lean on the political

skills former peacekeepers acquired abroad, especially their prestige and ability to

negotiate and mediate conflicts, to form and maintain a coalition, crucial to guaran-

teeing some level of governability.