Many Latin American countries have historically shown recurring involvements of the military forces in both domestic and foreign affairs. Virtually all nations of the continent have witnessed at some point a dynamic engagement of the military in matters of state. In this sense the armed forces systematically embarked upon political and economic operations, adopting diverse positions in different spheres of actions: in many occasions they saw their commitment as fundamental in order to save the country from eroding political situations; many others they represented the nationalist impulse striving to defeat the abuses of unjust regencies; they played the role of the revolutionary actor struggling for economic improvement and the defender of domestic order from external menaces.
