State and Opposition in Military Brazil

Based on extensive research into opposition and government documents, including the previously unavailable Manual Bsico da Escola de Guerra, Maria Helena Moreira Alves provides a rich description of the long and tortuous attempt by the Brazilian military government to create a workable national security state in the face of determined and resilient opposition. She interviewed more than one hundred key figures in government, the military, business, professional associations, the Catholic church, grassroots organizations, and trade unions in order to analyze politically and historically the relationship between civil society and government structures in Brazil during the years 19641983. Her study charts the rise and subsequent decline of the military governments power, concluding with a discussion of the abertura policy instituted under General Joo Batista Figueiredo.