Military Dictatorship and Political Transition

the Role of the Armed Forces and the Remnants of Authoritarianism

Abstract

This work analyzes how the role of the Armed Forces, as assigned by the Federal Constitution of 1988, is the result of a deficient political transition process and represents an authoritarian enclave in the current democracy. The research discusses the hypothesis that both the negotiated political transition between civilian political elites and the military, as well as the lack of institutional reforms following the end of the military dictatorship, contribute to legitimizing the current constitutional functions of the Armed Forces. The article examines how the Brazilian Armed Forces can position themselves in the political sphere as a "moderating power," and how this discourse is mistakenly invoked to justify military intervention during times of crisis. The central issue is that Article 142 of the Federal Constitution assigned the Armed Forces the role of guarantor of law and order, but did not clarify its limitations, leaving room for ambiguous, and even antidemocratic, interpretations that contribute to a permanent state of legal and institutional insecurity. Methodologically, this is a theoretical-documentary research that uses theoretical references from History and Constitutional Law. The research concludes that the constitutional functions of the Armed Forces are incompatible with the democratic state and need to be reformed.