THE military intervention it is characterized by an action of the Armed Forces of one country in another, without the authorization of the intervening State.
Likewise, it can occur within a state itself, when the Armed Forces of that country take command of it.
The term should not be confused with “peace operations”, authorized by the receiving State and coordinated by the UN.
Military Intervention x Humanitarian Intervention
Military Intervention
The term "military intervention" can be used as a synonym for a state of war or military coup.
Let's see:
The role of the Armed Forces is delimited by a country's Constitution and can only be used when called upon by the Executive Branch. In some cases, it must have the approval of the Legislative Power.
Hence, the term “military intervention” assumes that the military is acting on its own.
If this happens between countries, we would be facing a state of war. On the other hand, if this situation occurs within a country, it means a coup d'état.
Humanitarian Intervention
However, there are cases where one country can interfere with another. These are called "humanitarian intervention" and "military humanitarian intervention".
Humanitarian intervention consists of sending international observers, negotiators, diplomats, health and food aid.
The military humanitarian intervention, in addition to the agents mentioned above, will be accompanied by the military as well.
In order for a humanitarian military intervention to take place, the following cases must be observed:
- a state does not protect or threaten its population;
- a minority group is threatened by the majority;
- in cases of civil war.
To prevent one country from appropriating another during humanitarian military intervention, nations sending their forces must have the support of the UN, from international organizations such as the NATO and regional alliances such as the European Union.
In this way, military humanitarian intervention is prevented from turning into a war or a coup d'état that ends in a dictatorship.
Coup and Military Intervention in Brazil
Since becoming independent, Brazil has a great history of military interventions in political life.
The first of these was the coup of the institution of the Republic against the constitutional monarchy. This was followed by the Revolution of 1930, led by Getúlio Vargas, and finally, the 1964 Military Coup, which established the military dictatorship for 20 years.
With the political and economic crisis that occurred in the government of Dilma Rousseff, various sectors of society called for military intervention during the demonstrations.
The Armed Forces denied that they could interfere in Brazilian politics, as this would be an unconstitutional act.
In fact, the 1988 Constitution establishes that the Armed Forces must protect the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary powers in Brazil and not attack them.
Cases that may occur federal intervention in Brazil
However, Brazilian law also provides for federal intervention, with the use of the Armed Forces, in cases where all possibilities for solving a conflict have already been exhausted.
The use of military personnel should only be used as a last resort, and the President of the Republic must, as stated in article 15 of Complementary Law 97/99:
recognize that other resources are unavailable, non-existent or insufficient for the regular performance of its constitutional mission.
(Article 15, § 3, of Complementary Law 97/99. )
This was the case of the federal intervention in Rio de Janeiro, which began February 16, 2018, when the state government declared itself incapable of solving the problem of urban violence.
Thus, we realize that the use of military force is a failure of institutions and not a measure that would solve the problem.
Keep studying about the subject:
- What is Dictatorship?
- Military Dictatorship in Brazil
- Proclamation of the Republic
- Questions about the Military Dictatorship
