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since redemocratization in Brazil in 1985 and after 21 years under military rule, never like now, with the far-right Jair Bolsonaro in the presidency since 2019, the barracks had so much weight and influence in the governments that emerged from the electoral ballot boxes.
It may be that there has been influence and some messages sent, but always in a discreet way, far from the eyes of both the majority of politicians and the most lucid and informed part of the electorate.
An especially serious precedent was recorded in 2018, when the then commander-general of the army, Eduardo Villas Boas, issued an ultimatum to the members of the Federal Supreme Court, on the eve of a request for habeas corpus of Lula da Silva to avoid prison, determined by the then judge – who was later found to have been biased and manipulative – Sergio Moro, who was acting in alliance with the prosecutors in a process against the former president.
Through social networks, Villas Boas stated the repudiation of impunity
by the Army.
With that, and thanks to the cowardly omission of the members of the Supreme Court – who two years later would recognize Lula’s innocence – the former president was sent to jail and the way was opened for retired captain Jair Bolsonaro to become President.
What was only known later is that since 2016, that is, two years earlier, Jair Bolsonaro had obtained support from the army for what seemed like an unfeasible electoral dispute.
He was an obscure deputy, known for his rudeness and for his very peculiar system of collecting money for his own benefit. His career in the barracks was highlighted exclusively by his indiscipline and insubordination. Why would an informed and lucid military man like Villas Boas support such a figure?
First, because of his rejection of Lula, the Workers’ Party and the left in general. And second, because knowing Bolsonaro’s mediocrity and stupidity, he was sure that by surrounding him with other lucid generals he would control his excesses and his irremediable imbalance.
Well, the result is clear in the current scenario of a country destroyed by the worst president in history. Bolsonaro, much more alive than his supporters, quickly got rid of the generals who should control him.
He chose a few retired generals to surround him in decisive positions, placed more than 6,000 soldiers in his government, half of them in positions of trust, with space, power and budget, and assured them a life as maharajas.
And now, in the middle of the electoral dispute, what was seen and is being seen in Brazil is a participation of the armed forces in the process like never before. In this 2022, the Brazilian armed forces –read basically the Army– demanded to participate in the vote counting process.
Pathetically, the defense minister, a retired general, demanded—literally: demanded—that the Superior Electoral Tribunal allow access to various points in the vote-counting system.
The answer was humiliating: they informed him that, by law, that access had been open to any Brazilian institution for years.
Bolsonaro demanded that a report be prepared on the transparency
of the electoral ballot boxes, fiercely fought by him, who curiously was elected four times national deputy by that method. In his coup threats, he reiterates that he will only accept defeat if clean elections
and that is why he imposed a military presence throughout the voting system.
And such a report? Well, it was elaborated, but Bolsonaro prevented it from being disclosed. Of course, if the military had detected any type of manipulation or fraud, the report would be announced throughout the universe.
Since the dictatorship that ended in 1985 after 21 years, never before has the military had so much weight in any government.
It remains to be seen what Lula da Silva will do if he is elected president according to what all the polls say, in the face of such a situation. How is he going to get rid of the thousands and thousands of soldiers distributed by the government and who would lose their great benefits? How to achieve what all the elected presidents have done since redemocratization –himself among them–, that is, keep the armed forces as servants of the Brazilian State and not of a certain government?
What will the active military do in the event that Bolsonaro actually fulfills what he announces every day, that he refuses to accept defeat and attempts a coup?
How do the armed forces intend to rebuild their image, which was solid before messing with such a wild beast and integrating the government in ways that are often filthy, participating – retired officers, it should be noted – in gross attempts at generalized corruption?
Few weeks left to know the answer.
