What to make of Temer’s Rio de Janeiro army intervention

When President Michel Temer signed the decree declaring a federal intervention in Rio de Janeiro’s security system, he completely altered Brazil’s political debate. Up until Friday, we were discussing how the 2018 presidential election would unfold, or that TV presenter Luciano Huck dropped out of the race (again), or even the government’s inability to approve the pension system reform. These subjects are now minor issues – and the pension reform is officially not going to happen this year. For the record, the project was already dead, despite the government’s attempt to suggest otherwise.

It is paramount to be accurate when talking about the intervention: this is a federal intervention, not a military one. Even if the decree puts an Army General in charge of Rio’s security apparatus, he reports to the Minister of Justice (a civilian) and has the President (another civilian) as his commander-in-chief.  This case is not about relations...