Brazilian Intelligence Agency

The Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Brazilian Portuguese: Agência Brasileira de Inteligência, ABIN) is Brazil's civil main intelligence agency , being the main government entity of the Brazilian Intelligence System (Brazilian Portuguese: Sistema Brasileiro de Inteligência, Sisbin). It is Brazil's equivalent of the CIA, and of the SVR. Its functions are to investigate real and potential threats, to identify opportunities that are in the interest of the Brazilian government and society, to defend the democratic rule of law, and to secure national sovereignty. It was created by a law during the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration on 1999. Despite being created relatively recently, intelligence assessment exists in Brazil since 1927.

Just like most of government entities, ABIN jobs are fulfilled, since 1994, through civil service entrance exams. There are still members of the agency that are ex-employees of the previous intelligence agencies, specially of the National Information Service, that was created during the military dictatorship, and extinct by the president Fernando Collor de Mello on 1990.

Despite the name, the agency does not have autarky origin, it is a government entity of direct administration part of the President of the Republic. It is regulated by external control of the National Congress, that holds a mixed committee of senators and deputies made for this function, called Mixed Committee for the Control of Intelligence Activities (Brazilian Portuguese: Comissão Mista de Controle das Atividades de Inteligência, CCAI).