Mission in Mufti: Brazil's Military Regimes, 1964-1985

(Hardback)

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Description

This study focuses on the regimes that governed Brazil over the twenty-one-year span ending in 1985. It also considers what obstacles the regimes could not overcome, and where that resistance came from in each of the five regimes. The term "mission" used in the title of the book, is chosen by the author to describe the nonmilitary mission the leaders accepted - to them a "duty-oriented commitment to the people of Brazil" in seizing the reins of the government from President Goulart in 1964. The other part of the title, "mufti", also relates to what appears unique: each incumbent in the presidency permanently severed his hierarchical control over the armed forces by retirement from active duty, donning civilian clothes and never again appearing in uniform.

Reviews

A detailed study of the five successive military governments in Brazil from 1964 through 1985, analyzing what Brazil's officers sought to achieve in taking power and assessing what they accomplished and at what costs. The author is generally sympathetic to the motivations and aims of Brazil's military rulers, but recognizes that the ultimate legacy of military rule was mixed at best.-Foreign Affairs
"A detailed study of the five successive military governments in Brazil from 1964 through 1985, analyzing what Brazil's officers sought to achieve in taking power and assessing what they accomplished and at what costs. The author is generally sympathetic to the motivations and aims of Brazil's military rulers, but recognizes that the ultimate legacy of military rule was mixed at best."-Foreign Affairs

Author Bio

WILFRED A. BACCHUS is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at Muhlenberg College. Previously he served on the faculties of the University of Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State University, Sacred Heart University, and the Naval War College.