Developments in Brazil highlight lack of military justice reform

The announcement yesterday that the governor of Rio de Janeiro state, Sergio Cabral, asked Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff for federal troops to help quell increasing high levels of violence in the city's favelas (shanty-towns) is a worrying development for human rights and justice.  Brazil has embarked on a massive pacification program of Rio in preparation for the upcoming World Cup in June and the 2016 Olympics.  But many have been highly critical of the level of human rights abuses committed by the forces, and Brazilians were shocked last week by video footage of a woman who was dragged through the streets by a police car following a shootout.  Many of the military police units used in these operations are governed by a military justice system, not civilian courts (for a good overview of the different security forces see this summary of a piece by Jorge Zaverucha), and impunity for abuses committed by the police has not surprisingly been high.  The introduction of additional federal troops, some which may be regular army units, will only exacerbate this problem.  Previous efforts at military justice reform in Brazil have been minimal, with a powerful military, with civilian allies, resisting any significant efforts to bring its forces under civilian jurisdiction, and retaining a significant role in internal security within the country.