Jose Sarney, the first civilian Brazilian president after the military dictatorship of 1964-1985, reveals he was told that Brazil had a nuclear weapons construction program in the hopes of keeping up with neighbor Argentina – however, this project was abandoned when an elected civilian leader came into power. The military regime even had designated the rural northern state of Para for potential weapons testing. The current Brazilian constitution states that nuclear energy can only be used for peaceful purposes, an aim seconded by a treaty limiting nuclear proliferation between Brazil and Argentina. This treaty was made, Jose Sarney noted, after Brazil noted that Argentina was ten years ahead in nuclear technology.