The military's role in Brazilian politics

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The incoming Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has said Brazil's period of military rule, which lasted from 1964 to 1985, was a "glorious" era.

He has repeatedly promised to bring back what he describes as the "order" of the time to the largest nation in Latin America.

"We didn't have a dictatorship here, we had a military regime with authority and discipline, that made Brazil grow in all aspects, including economically", he told CGTN during an interview in Brazilia last year.

Such comments, and the fact that Bolsonaro has appointed several retired generals to senior positions in his cabinet, have led some to wonder if the army might be returning to politics in Brazil.

A fireworks display is seen as members of the military police pose for a photo after polls closed during the second round of presidential elections in Rio de Janeiro, October 28, 2018. /VCG Photo

It is a question put to the incoming vice-president, Antonio Hamilton Mourão - himself a former general.

The military, he said, "has principles. We have values, and the population was looking for this. That's why a lot of military has been elected to congress."

He stressed that both he and the president-elect, who has served in as a politician in the Brazilian congress for the last 30 years, were elected as private citizens, not soldiers.

Nevertheless, he seemed open to a military-style approach to law and order.

"No country can live without order, without authority" he said. "What has happened here in Brazil is that the law enforcement was very soft. We need to be harder."

Brazil's Armed Forces Commander, Eduardo Villas Boas (C), attends a ceremony at the Palacio Duque de Caxias to mark the end of federal and military intervention for public security in Rio de Janeiro, December 27, 2018. /VCG Photo

Crime, particularly violent and drug-related crime, has been soaring in recent years in Brazil, especially in the northeast, and in the city and state of Rio de Janeiro. One reason Jair Bolsonaro won the election so convincingly was his promise to show no mercy to criminals.

One possible blueprint for a military-led anti-drugs law and order policy under Bolsonaro is a pilot scheme that is currently underway in Rio de Janeiro, where the army has temporarily taken over policing duties.

The operation has achieved some of its aims. Murders from March to October in the state are down almost five percent, in comparison to the same period last year;

Colonel Carlos Cinelli, the spokesman for the military in Rio de Janeiro, said he would not be surprised if the army does take an active role in national public security and infrastructure projects under Bolsonaro.

Brazilian military officers perform security patrols at Fort Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, December 28, 2018. /VCG Photo

"I think the armed forces will be requested to work more in other areas, including public security", he said. "Because we have a lot of capabilities that are not used, because we are not at war".

Such talk troubles 80-year-old Rita Sipahi. As a leftist political militant, she was imprisoned and tortured by Brazil's military rulers in the 1970s.

"I think this ignorance of our history was the reason for this yearning of bringing the military back", she said.

Millions of Brazilians are reassured by the close connections between the incoming government and the military. The institution represents much of what they crave, and feel is lacking, in contemporary Brazil: including order, discipline, and security.

But there are other quieter voices here, and they have a warning: Be careful of what you wish for.