Political (In)Justice: Authoritarianism and the Rule of Law in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina

281 Pages·2005·1.348 MB·English

by  Anthony W. Pereira

Political
(In)justice
PITT LATIN AMERICAN SERIES
George Reid Andrews, General Editor
Catherine M. Conaghan, Associate Editor
Political
(In)justice
AUTHORITARIANISM AND THE RULE OF LAW
IN BRAZIL, CHILE, AND ARGENTINA
Anthony W. Pereira
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH PRESS
Published by the University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15260
Copyright © 2005, University of Pittsburgh Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Printed on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pereira, Anthony W.
Political (in)justice : authoritarianism and the rule of law in Brazil, Chile, and
Argentina / Anthony W. Pereira.
p. cm. — (Pitt Latin American series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8229-5885-6(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Rule of law—Brazil. 2. Authoritarianism—Brazil. 3. Rule of law—Chile.
4. Authoritarianism—Chile. 5. Rule of law—Argentina. 6. Authoritarianism—
Argentina. I. Title. II. Series.
KH552.P47 2005
340'.11—dc22
2005011120
To my daughter Bela and my son Bevan—
may you fight to make your world
a more just one than this.

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xv
Chapter 1: Repression, Legality, and Authoritarian Regimes 1
Chapter 2: National Security Legality in Brazil and
the Southern Cone in Comparative Perspective 16
Chapter 3:The Evolution of National Security Legality
in Brazil and the Southern Cone 37
Chapter 4: Political Trials in Brazil: The Continuation of
a Conservative Tradition 63
Chapter 5:“Wartime” Legality and Radical Adaptation in Chile 90
Chapter 6:Antilegalism in Argentina 117
Chapter 7:Defense Lawyers in Brazil’s Military Courts:
Redefining Free Speech, Subversion, Terrorism, and Crime 140
Chapter 8:Transitional Justice and the Legacies of Authoritarian Legality 159
Chapter 9:The Sword and the Robe: Military-Judicial Relations
in Authoritarian and Democratic Regimes 173
Chapter 10:The Puzzle of Authoritarian Legality 191
Appendix 1:A Note on Sources and Data 201
Appendix 2:Interviews 204
Notes 209
Works Cited 237
Index 253

Illustrations
Figures
Figure 1.1:Variation in legal approaches to repression 5
Figure 9.1:Variation in legal approaches to repression: Argentina, Brazil,
Chile, and other cases 176
Maps
Map 1:South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile 17
Map 2:Location of political trials in military courts, Brazil 1964–1979 64
Map 3:Location of some of the most active military courts,
Chile 1973–1978 91
Map 4:Argentina, 1971–1983 118
Tables
Table 2.1:Lethal violence by state forces and other indices of political
repression in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, 1964–1990 21
Table 2.2:Features of authoritarian legality in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina 23
Table 2.3:Comparison of courts analyzed in this book 24
Table 4.1:Acquittal rates in national security trials in regional military
courts by location of court, Brazil, 1964–1979 79
Table 4.2:Average sentences in national security trials in regional military
courts by location of court, Brazil, 1964–1979 80
Table 4.3:Acquittal rates in national security trials in regional military
courts by year of alleged crime, Brazil, 1964–1979 81
Table 4.4:Acquittal rates in national security trials in regional military
courts by professional background of defendant, Brazil, 1964–1979 83
ix