THE last time a big Brazilian city was attacked was in 1711, when a French corsair briefly captured Rio de Janeiro. The country’s official defence review states that “at present, Brazil has no enemies”. Nonetheless, Brazil maintains the world’s 15th-biggest standing army, and spends more on defence than Israel does.

THE last time a big Brazilian city was attacked was in 1711, when a French corsair briefly captured Rio de Janeiro. The country’s official defence review states that “at present, Brazil has no enemies”. Nonetheless, Brazil maintains the world’s 15th-biggest standing army, and spends more on defence than Israel does.