O serviço militar obrigatório no Brasil: formação histórica e análise de suas tensões à luz do Estado Democrático de Direito

Abstract

This study analyzes mandatory military service in Brazil based on its historical development and the tensions that its contemporary implementation presents in light of the values of the Democratic Rule of Law. It seeks to understand to what extent characteristics developed throughout the history of military recruitment remain relevant to the understanding of the current model, as well as to assess the adequacy of compulsory enlistment in peacetime. The research employs bibliographic and documentary review, with a theoretical-dogmatic and critical-analytical approach, examining Brazilian legislation, institutional documents, and historiographical and sociological studies. Robert Alexy’s theory of proportionality is also adopted as a theoretical framework for analyzing the restrictions imposed on individual freedom and autonomy, while comparative law is used with particular emphasis on the experiences of Argentina and Spain. The historical reconstruction demonstrates that Brazilian military recruitment has been marked by coercive and selective practices, although it has undergone processes of centralization, institutionalization, and increased impersonality. In the contemporary model, a gap can be observed between the formal universality of the obligation and the effective incorporation of only a limited proportion of those enlisted, as well as indications that a voluntary demand may be sufficient to meet personnel requirements. The analysis also reveals limitations in the available data for conclusively determining how social factors currently influence the selection process. It is concluded that annual compulsory service is not the only possible form of military recruitment and that its necessity may be reassessed in light of less restrictive alternatives. A possible transition to a predominantly voluntary system, however, would require planning, professionalization, mechanisms for the formation of military reserves, the preservation of exceptional conscription mechanisms, and greater transparency in the current system.