Following World War II, the internationalist faction of the Brazilian armed forces used terror as a revolutionary tool, initially to purge nationalist, dissident officers, and later to expand the influence of military ideology in civil society. By 1952 the Brazilian public was aware of the use of terror in the armed forces but accepted it because most believed terror was being used to fight communism. A key factor in the evolution of the use of terror was the heightened professionalization of the military. Increased educational and professional resources as well as better organization and modern military doctrine enabled the military to use terror as an institutionalized system of social control.