Comments for Haiti and Latin America: It is as it always was at http://atlanticfreepress.com , comment 1 to 3 out of 3 comments http://atlanticfreepress.com Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:53:37 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/1813-haiti-and-latin-america-it-is-as-it-always-was.html#comment-2404 There is no big difference between the military police in Brazil and the Army. Their historical role has been the same: to keep in place the dangerous classes (mostly blacks). The military police is formally part of the armed forces, their iternal structure is military, and their highest rank is "coronel", never general. Thay are formally a support and reserve force of the Army, and subordinated to the Army, their officials must obey orders from Army commanders. The role of the Brazilian armed forces in internal affairs has been enshrined in the 1988 constitution. Lula has been keen in using the Army for internal affairs, for example in the events last year in São Paulo, when police stations were attacked by so-called organized crime: Lula put at the disposition of São Paulo State governor 10 thousand military. - a guest Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:23:58 +0100 http://atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/1813-haiti-and-latin-america-it-is-as-it-always-was.html#comment-2371 You are correct and I did not mean to say they are the same institutions...the only congruous institution is the Brazilian state and the same "law enforcement" tactics used in in the favelas are the same tactics being utilized by Brazilian generals in Haiti. It is the tactics of the two that beg comparison. That is where the twain meets. - a guest Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:38:06 +0100 http://atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/1813-haiti-and-latin-america-it-is-as-it-always-was.html#comment-2366 I would like to clear up some confusion about the difference between the Brazilian military and police forces. The Policia Militar in Brasil, which has been criticized by groups such as Amnesty International among others, despite its somewhat confusing name, has absolutely nothing to do with the Brazilian military. They are part of the civilian police force. The Brazilian military (army) presence in Haiti is in no way connected with the Policia Militar that is involved in the favelas in Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. The Policia Militar in Brasil are controlled by the respective states they operate in (every state has its own force) not by the nation's Ministry of Defense, unlike the army. They are totally separate entities. With very few exceptions, such as in 2003 and again in 2006, since Brazil's return to democracy in 1985, the government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been very careful not to give the military any sort of formalized law enforcement role in Brazil. In fact, members of Lula's Partido dos Trabalhadores have often been among those calling for increased accountability and transparency in the law-enforcement regime currently in place in Brasil. Having spent time in the favelas of Rio de Janiero, I can say that, much as it has been in Haiti, the situation in the favelas is often one in which heavily-armed gang members are squaring off against an often-equally brutal police force with thousands of civilians helplessly caught in the middle. MD - a guest Tue, 19 Jun 2007 20:29:00 +0100