Page "Brazilian Armed Forces" Paragraph 59

The Army General Staff ( Estado-Maior do Exército-EME ) directs training and operations.

The EME has expanded from four sections in 1968 to 15 sections in 1994.

It is headed by the EME chief, except in the event of a war.

From 1946 through 1985, the army was divided into four numbered armies: the First Army was centered in Rio de Janeiro, the Second Army in São Paulo, the Third Army in Porto Alegre, and the Fourth Army in Recife.

Historically, the First Army was the most politically significant because of Rio de Janeiro's position as the nation's capital through the 1950s.

The Third Army was also important because of its shared border with Argentina ( Brazil's traditional rival in Latin America ) and Uruguay.

In 1964, for example, close to two-thirds of the Brazilian troops were in the Third Army, and somewhat fewer than one-third were in the First Army.

The rest were sprinkled throughout the Second and Fourth Armies.

The Planalto Military Command ( Comando Militar do Planalto-CMP ), comprising the Federal District and Goiás State, and the Amazon Military Command ( Comando Militar da Amazônia-CMA ) supplemented the four armies.