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Article: Brazil, Intelligence and Security
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, andSecurity
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Brazil, Intelligence and Security
Brazil gained its independence from Portugal in 1822, seizing upon a period of European unrest to establish its own government. Since that time, the government of Brazil has been traditionally unstable, with large-scale landowners, the military, and democratic forces vying for political power.
A military coup took control of the nation for much of the late twentieth century, but civilians regained control of the government in 1985. Under military rule, political dissidents were taken into custody and sometimes tortured. The government used the intelligence services to conduct surveillance of citizens and infiltrate political organizations. The regime ...