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The Compass: The Cold War Legacy: The Cold War Legacy: Brazil

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Brazil

30/10/2019 GMT

The Cold War Legacy: Brazil

The Cold War Legacy

BBC World Service - The Compass, The Cold War Legacy, The Cold War Legacy: Brazil

Jair Bolsonaro has vowed to wipe the reds off the map. Is Brazil reliving the Cold War?

President Bolsonaro claims he is saving his country from Communism. Is Brazil reliving the Cold War?

Brazil’s controversial new President, Jair Bolsonaro, has praised the country’s military dictatorship, which took power in 1964 and ruled for 21 years. In an echo of the language used by the generals back then, President Bolsonaro claims he is saving his country from Communism and he has vowed to wipe the reds off the map. His critics say he is a threat to democracy.

In this sharply divided country, some say Brazil is reliving the Cold War. Through history, culture and the classroom, the BBC’s South America correspondent Katy Watson explores Brazil’s Cold War legacy.

Presenter: Katy Watson
Producer: John Murphy

(Photo: Brazilian army tanks arrive at Guanabara Palace, on 01 April 1964 in Rio de Janeiro during the military putsch. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

The Compass: The Cold War Legacy

The Cold War ended 30 years ago but its impact is still being felt across the world.

After six years of fighting, the Second World War was over but the respite was brief. Soon the former allies (the USA and USSR, along with their allies) were locked into another conflict against each other, one which lasted almost four and a half decades. The Cold War was a battle of ideology, politics, spies and military supremacy, with a sometimes terrifying arms race and nuclear proliferation. Like WWII before it, the Cold War was truly global as the two camps struggled for influence and control across all continents. It may have officially ended in 1991 but its ramifications can still be felt today. 

We travel to Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia to examine what impact the Cold War had back then and how it still resonates today especially with the younger generation who may not have lived through it but are still living with its aftermath.

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