Geisel, Banzer and Brazil’s arms sales to Bolivia, 1974-1979: a contribution to the study of Latin America’s Cold War

Abstract

The paper discusses the transfers of Brazilian-made weapons to Bolivia, during the governments of Ernesto Geisel and Hugo Banzer Suárez, especially between 1974 and 1979.The manuscript is the result of a research with primary documents consulted at the National Archives, in Brasilia. From the Brazilian perspective, the case study suggests a correlation and links between the defense industry, arms exports, and foreign policy. At the same time, the granting of a special credit/loan line to finance arms exports ended up leveraging these transfers. In theoretical-methodological and empirical terms, the present case study dialogues with the approach called Latin America’s Cold War.

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