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Reuters
Former defense ministers assess that the Armed Forces are unwilling to follow the president in the event of a collapse of democracy.
In recent months, the Armed Forces have deepened their relationship with the government of Jair Bolsonaro (without a party). But that does not mean that the Army, the Navy and the Air Force are willing to follow the President of the Republic in an initiative that would mean the breakdown of democratic order. The assessment is shared by three former defense ministers consulted by BBC News Brazil.
On Sunday (05/03), Bolsonaro returned to greet the protesters in front of the Planalto Palace, in Brasilia, as he had already done on March 15.
In banners, posters and slogans, the protesters again called for the closure of the National Congress and the Supreme Federal Court (STF), in addition to the edition of a new version of Institutional Law No. 5, AI-5, which marked the beginning of the phase most violent of the military dictatorship (1964-1985).
Speaking to the protesters, Bolsonaro said that the Armed Forces were with him and that he would not “admit more interference” in his government; The speech was a message to STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who revoked the nomination the week before. from delegate Alexandre Ramagem to the position of general director of the PF, carried out by Bolsonaro.
“You know that the people are with us, the Armed Forces, along with law, order, democracy and freedom, are also on our side, and God above all,” said the President of the Republic.
“Let’s play the boat. I pray to God we don’t have a problem this week. Because we have reached the limit, there is no more conversation. Okay? From now on, we will not only demand, we will enforce the Constitution. It will be enforced. any price. And she has a double hand. It is not just one hand on one side. Tomorrow we will appoint a new FP director, “he continued. On Monday (04), Bolsonaro appointed Rolando Alexandre de Souza to command the PF.
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João Fellet / BBC News Brazil
“The armed forces are fully aware that they are fulfilling a constitutional mission,” said Aldo Rebelo (file photo)
“We want the best for our country. We want the true independence of the three branches of government and not only in the letter of the Constitution, we do not want that. No more interference. We will not admit more interference. Patience is over,” Bolsonaro said.
Not ‘adventure’
For three former defense ministers heard by the BBC News Brazil report, the president’s speeches do not coincide with the Armed Forces’ disposition: the barracks are already an organic part of the Jair Bolsonaro government, but they will not support the president’s attitudes that they represent a rupture of the democratic regime in force in the country since 1985.
“The Armed Forces are fully aware that they have a very high constitutional, national and social mission to allow themselves to get involved in political or party disputes, which are fleeting,” former minister Aldo Rebelo told BBC News Brazil.
For him, there is no possibility of “adventure outside the constitutional framework”. The Armed Forces, he said, will maintain loyalty to the president in his demands, but within the limits established by the 1988 Charter.
Rebelo commanded the Defense portfolio between October 2015 and May 2016, under the government of Dilma Rousseff (PT). At the time, he was still a member of the PCdoB, the party in which he built his political career: in 2017, he left the title, remained for a short period on the PSB, and is currently affiliated with Solidarity.
He believes that the problems that led President Bolsonaro to mention the supposed support of the Armed Forces for his project are of a nature outside the barracks.
“The president is a man tormented for reasons that I do not know and he makes use of these excesses creating confusion in the country, but I believe that this will not have major consequences, except for the president himself, who will be able to respond to the STF and Congress for the illegalities. who is committed, “said Rebelo.
Today, Senator PT of Bahia, Jaques Wagner, was Minister of Defense during 2015, under the government of former President Dilma Rousseff (PT). According to him, the concerns of today’s Armed Forces are different, and there is no place for “adventure.”
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GERALDO MAGELA / AG. SENATE
The concerns of today’s Armed Forces are different, and there is no place for ‘adventures,’ says Jaques Wagner.
“I think that the Brazilian Forces today are much more concerned with the issue of professionalization, equipping themselves, to have a modern, competent and efficient Army, Navy and Air Force, in case of any aggression against the nation,” he said. . Wagner to BBC News Brazil.
“From the point of view of values, the members of the Armed Forces have the values of the stratum, let’s say, of the Brazilian middle class. It is obvious that there are more conservatives, who can agree on some points (with Bolsonaro). But I don’t think they agree with the way the Presidency of the Republic acts, “says Wagner – after the Ministry of Defense, he occupied the Civil House at the end of the Dilma government.
For the senator and former minister, Bolsonaro promotes a “telecatch brigade” to enthuse his voters, however, without carrying out his threats. Telecatch was the name of a television show from the 1960s that featured organized “fights” between characters in a ring.
“We have a President of the Republic who can only survive and keep his audience excited by building conflict every week. And I don’t think the armed forces are willing to embark on an adventure without a project, without motivation, without any meaning,” Wagner said. .
“The Brazilian Armed Forces are an institution that trains cadres, who think about Brazil. Regardless of whether I agree or not, but the country thinks (…) He (Bolsonaro), no. He is only thinking about 2022. A president so he doesn’t rule. He’s still campaigning, and he’s still preparing for 2022. So since he wants to keep his fans excited, he has to keep doing this kind of bravado, “he says.
Reaction of the armed forces
This Monday (4), the current Defense Minister, General Fernando Azevedo e Silva, issued a public note on the protests of the previous day.
The text underscores the importance of “independence and harmony” between the Powers: for Jaques Wagner and another former defense minister consulted by BBC News Brazil, the note represents a clear reaction from the barracks to Bolsonaro’s speech.
“The Armed Forces fulfill their constitutional mission. The Navy, the Army and the Air Force are state organisms that consider that independence and harmony between the Powers are essential for the government of the country,” says the note.
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SERGIO LIMA / AFP AND GETTY IMAGES
“The Armed Forces will always be on the side of law, order, democracy and freedom. This is our commitment,” says a note from the current Minister of Defense.
“Freedom of expression is a fundamental requirement of a democratic country. However, any attack against press professionals is unacceptable. Brazil needs to move forward. We face a pandemic of health and social consequences that are still unpredictable, which requires effort and understanding of all “, The text continues, referring to the attacks suffered by journalists during the demonstration in Brasilia.
“The Armed Forces will always be on the side of law, order, democracy and freedom. This is our commitment,” says the note.
Also yesterday afternoon, the vice president, Hamilton Mourão, wrote on Twitter that “no one will break the Constitution,” and stressed that “each power has its limits and responsibilities.”
For the Armed Forces academics heard by BBC News Brazil, the Defense Ministry demonstration marked a departure from the military leadership from the radicalism of the president.
However, these analysts express concern about the possibility of lower and middle-ranking officers joining authoritarian movements.
Organic link
According to another former defense minister, who spoke to BBC News Brazil on condition of anonymity, the type of link between the Armed Forces and the Bolsonaro government changed earlier this year.
In February, an army general, Walter Souza Braga Netto, took over as the new minister of the Civil House. He replaced Onyx Lorenzoni (DEM), now Minister of Citizenship.
Braga Netto was a member of the Army General Staff and anticipated his retirement to occupy the position in the Civil House.
“The arrival of Braga Netto, who left the General Staff of the Army to take over the Civil House, which is a coordinating body of the government, (represented) a qualitative change. Because there has been a more organic connection, so to speak , between the Armed Forces and the government, “evaluates the former minister.
“So I think that this organic link that was created, without mentioning the number of military personnel (in the government), which is somewhat expressive, will make the Armed Forces, for better or for worse, use the expression General Ernesto Geisel, inevitably tainted by the outcome of the Bolsonaro government, “says the former minister.
“It is different from ‘ah, I’m doing technical work …’ No. It is very difficult to say this in a situation like this,” he says.
“They (the military) would not support a formal coup, in my opinion, but they deceive attitudes that are almost … that are attitudes of outrage. Bolsonaro participates, encourages, applauds, demonstrations demanding the return of the AI-5 and other things ” , He says.
“The military, in general, are formalists. So Bolsonaro goes there, makes a scandal. People do not like it, criticize it, and with good reason. But he does not break it. He does not say ‘I am going to disobey a decision (of the STF) ‘He says he’s at the limit, but he doesn’t cross, “he says.
“President Bolsonaro, in his apparent madness, has a lot of political talent. See that he threatened, said that he had reached the limit, etc. But there was no other way: he did not make a direct confrontation,” says the former minister.
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