The Brazilian Intelligence Agency (, ABIN) is the main
intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy obj ...
in Brazil. ABIN's mission is to ensure that the Federal Executive has access to knowledge related to the security of the State and society, such as those involving foreign defense, foreign relations, internal security, socioeconomic development and scientific-technological development.
History
A successor organization to the
Serviço Nacional de Informações (SNI), it formed during the government of
Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco
Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco (20 September 1897 – 18 July 1967) was a Brazilian military officer and politician who served as the 26th president of Brazil, the first leader of the Brazilian military dictatorship following the 1964 coup ...
in the mid-1960s.
In an attempt to bring military
intelligence agencies
An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives.
Means of inf ...
under the control of the civilian-led government as part of the process of democratization that began in Brazil in 1985, President
Fernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Collor ...
replaced the SNI with the short-lived (1990–1994) Secretaria de Assuntos Estratégicos (SAE) or Strategic Affairs Secretariat. However, despite the dismissal of 144 SNI officers, the agency continued to be dominated by the military and effective oversight and control of the country's intelligence activities eluded the civilian government.
In 1995 President
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso (; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initials FHC (), is a Brazilian sociologist, professor, and politician who served as the 34th president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 1 January 2003. He was the first Brazi ...
placed a civilian at the head of the SAE and subsequently created ABIN. Like many other Latin American nations, Brazil faces the challenge of having to overcome a long history of involvement by the military and their related intelligence arms in domestic politics. Early on, ABIN was tainted by a wiretapping and influence peddling scandal that led to the agency being placed under the direct control of the President and the Institutional Security Cabinet rather than being responsible to the national Congress. This had once again undermined the attempt to reduce the influence of the military on Brazilian intelligence agencies and their practises.
However, successive governments have taken a number of steps to reduce the influence of the armed forces and related intelligence agencies in domestic politics. The relationships between these groups and government in Brazil, so closely intertwined for decades, is evolving. The focus of intelligence agencies appears to be moving slowly from managing internal dissent to focusing on external threats and support of the nation's democracy.
On 1 September 2008, President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...
suspended the leadership of the organization, including its director Paulo Lacerda, and ordered an investigation into allegations that appeared in ''
Veja'' magazine of
phone tapping of senior figures including the heads of both the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
.
In 2024, an investigation was launched after it emerged that the agency had carried out surveillance on prominent critics of former president
Jair Bolsonaro
Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...
when he was still in office, including three justices of the
Supreme Federal Court
The Federal Supreme Court (, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the country's Constitutional Court. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for constitutional issues and its rulings ...
and a speaker of the
Chamber of Deputies (Brazil)
The Chamber of Deputies () is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms. The current preside ...
. Among those alleged to have been involved were Bolsonaro's son
Carlos, the then-head of ABIN
Alexandre Ramagem, and his deputy Alessandro Moretti, who was dismissed along with four agency department heads by President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...
.
In 2025, the Brazilian government admitted that ABIN had conducted espionage on Paraguayan officials during the
presidency of Jair Bolsonaro
Jair Bolsonaro's tenure as the 38th president of Brazil began with his inauguration on 1 January 2019, and ended on 1 January 2023. Bolsonaro took office following his victory in the 2018 Brazilian general election, 2018 general election, defea ...
.
Functions
ABIN's main function is to investigate real and potential threats to the Brazilian society and government and defend the democratic
rule of law
The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...
, the Brazilian
sovereignty
Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
and the effectiveness of the public power.
Motto
The agency's motto is "Intelligence for the defense of society, of the democratic
rule of Law
The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...
and of national interests" ().
See also
*
Brazilian Federal Police
*
National Public Security Force
The National Public Security Force (, FNSP) was created in 2004 and is headquartered in Brasília, in the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District, as a joint cooperation of various Brazilian Public Safety forces, co-ordinated by the ''Na ...
*
Military of Brazil
*
Ministry of Defence of Brazil
Notes and references
External links
ABIN Official site*
ABIN Official site
{{Authority control
Brazilian intelligence agencies