This article aims to demonstrate how the Brazilian Superior Military Court of today (just as under the former military regime) continues to primarily defend what it considers the most important assets under its tutelage: hierarchy, discipline, and military duty. The Court has hybrid characteristics, displaying traits both from the authoritarian regime as well as from Brazil's current fledgling democracy. It is no coincidence that the Court has maintained its structure, functioning, and recruitment criteria virtually unaltered. The article contends that this institutional hybridism can only be overcome when effective democratic civilian oversight of the military is achieved.
military justice; armed forces; authoritarianism; democracy