Corruption in the Venezuelan Military
Years ago I published an article on the history of military corruption in Brazil. In many ways, this was a more challenging topic to investigate than my dissertation work on military terror. In Brazil the military has long defined its role as being the “nation’s savior,” which it has used to justify its intervention in civilian affairs. At the same time, officers have publicly denounced the corruption of civilian politicians. Nonetheless, the armed forces themselves suffered from corruption, which even became so severe as to undermine their capability during military operations, such as during the 1912 campaign against a millenarian movement in southern Brazil. At first such corruption was typically confined to procurement. During President Vargas’s Estado Novo in the 1930s, however, the military became deeply involved in economic development. And the more engaged in economic affairs it grew, the more corruption spread within it. This corruption took place not only to benefit particular generals, but also to create networks of patronage on behalf of military factions. By the 1950s, the shared economic interests of civilians and generals permitted military factions to evolve into true political parties that had allies outside the institution. …