Since masonry is a widely employed material, it is fundamental to better characterize its structural performance and extend its use beyond functional applications (separation of environments). In this work a finite element model for masonry structures is presented. By using a sophisticated numerical tool based on the finite element method, associated to suitable constitutive models, the behavior of these structures is represented in a more realistic way. Masonry modeling consists in representing the behavior of bricks and mortar, as well as the interaction between them. Interface elements present themselves as a natural choice for representation of the intrinsic physical discontinuities of the problem. Additionally, they can represent cracks arising from either mode I or mode II fracture, which represent potential opening and sliding planes, respectively. This requires the coupling of interface elements with constitutive models which embrace several system failure modes. In this work, an elasto-plastic model based on the Mohr- Coulomb yield criteria was chosen for the representation of the mortar interface. The brittle response of these structures often leads to localized failure modes. Advanced strategies of solution that allow us to follow the formation of localized strains are employed, namely displacement control, relative displacement control and the arc-length method. Application of this numerical tool to some numerical examples is shown and compared to experimental results.