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Brazil and Foreign Military Influence
The armed forces have been influenced by both European
and United States doctrines. The French influence was strongest
at the end of the nineteenth century, up to World War I. Brazil's
navy was more heavily influenced by the British in the nineteenth
century and by the Americans from World War I onward. Brazilian
officers served on United States Navy vessels in World War I. In
the early twentieth century, German influence grew in Brazil and
in most of South
America. From 1900 to 1914, many junior officers spent two-year
assignments in Germany. During the interwar period, French influence
again predominated, given Germany's defeat in World War I. With
the reemergence of Germany in the mid-1930s, German influence challenged
that of France.
United
States-Brazilian security relations can be understood best in
the context of the broader bilateral relationship. That relationship
can be characterized as one of asymmetrical interdependence, in
which Brazil depends more on the United States (especially its markets)
than vice versa. Since the mid-1960s, Brazil has emerged as the
dominant actor in South America, despite pressing political, economic,
and social problems. As a result, Brazil has narrowed the asymmetries
in its relationship with the United States and is more autonomous.
One implication of this change is that the United States has less
influence in its relationship with Brazil. Another is that there
cannot be a return to the status quo ante, when Brazil was perceived
as a "junior partner." Brazil is a qualitatively different
country than it was a generation ago. It has the world's ninth largest
economy, a population of more than 160 million people, and a broad
industrial base. Although the United States is still the dominant
actor in the relationship, Brasília now has greater leverage
in its dealings with Washington.
As a parallel to the changing bilateral relationship, the tenor
of United States-Brazilian security relations has shifted over time.
During World War II, Brazil supported the Allies, and Brazilian
troops fought alongside their United States counterparts in the
Italian campaign beginning in 1942. In the postwar era, United States
security ties with Brazil were close, if somewhat paternalistic.
Brazil and the United States signed a Military Assistance Agreement
in 1952, through which the United States provided most of Brazil's
major weapons and much of its military training. Relations between
the two countries began to deteriorate in the late 1960s and early
1970s, as a result of Washington's restrictions on the transfer
of arms to Latin America and Brazil's growing assertiveness in its
foreign policy.
In April 1977, Brazil abrogated unilaterally the 1952 United States-Brazilian
Military Assistance Agreement in reaction to pressure on Brazil
by President Jimmy Carter's administration to improve its human
rights record and to rescind its 1975 nuclear accord with West Germany.
The abrogation curtailed the regular flow of United States arms
to Brazil and reduced channels of interaction between United States
and Brazilian officers, especially in the area of training. The
termination of the agreement manifested a more aggressive and nationalistic
foreign policy under President Ernesto Geisel. Moreover, this was
reflected in Brazil's industrial prowess, its capabilities as an
arms producer, and its diversified external ties.
In the 1980s, the United States and Brazil sought to improve security
ties by developing structures and processes that reflected changes
in both countries and in their overall relationship. The major change
in Brazil was the continued political liberalization under President
João Figueiredo (1979-85), with the eventual return of civilian
government in March 1985. In the United States, the administration
of President Ronald Reagan distanced itself from the Carter administration's
human rights policies and took a more pragmatic approach, stressing
good relations with Brazil's military. On August 31, 1983, the United
States and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding on industrial-military
cooperation, and frequent meetings were held between high-level
officials of both countries. Despite these and more recent efforts,
security relations between the United States and Brazil have remained
cool. A variety of tensions remain, encompassing broad spheres of
the bilateral relationship, including technology transfers, and
specifically nuclear proliferation--Brazil's nuclear
and space programs and their potential for military applications.
In addition, the United States has been concerned with Brazil's
arms transfer policies. Increasingly, however, and much to the annoyance
of the Brazilians, the issue of drug trafficking has dominated the
agenda.
The transformation from bipolarity to multipolarity has pressed
Brazil to further diversify its foreign relations and strengthen
its ties with countries within Latin America and outside the region,
such as France, Germany, Japan, China, and the countries of Central
and Eastern Europe. The United States is unlikely to be displaced
as the major external actor in Brazil. However, it will encounter
growing competition from the rest of the world.
The traditional sources of equipment reflect the doctrinal influence
on the respective service. Thus, the Brazilian Navy at the turn
of the century depended primarily on British matériel. In
contrast, army equipment came primarily from France and Germany.
After 1942 Brazil depended primarily on the United States for its
imported arms. During the 1970s, Brazil became more self-sufficient,
as it produced a broad array of military equipment. In addition,
Brazil diversified its sources of equipment, turning increasingly
to Europe. In 1994 and 1995, Brazilians negotiated to purchase Russian
military equipment at "cut-rate" prices. Nonetheless,
in the early 1990s, the United States was still the most important
source of imported matériel. In addition, the United States
has participated since 1959 in annual naval exercises with Brazil
(UNITAS) and has been involved in numerous fleet exchanges.
Data as of April 1997
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