RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – During a ceremony on Tuesday, May 18, at the Planalto Palace, president Jair Bolsonaro said that the Armed Forces are the institution that can ultimately decide which path the country may take according to the people’s will.
“The Armed Forces are not mine, they belong to each one of us. They are the last ones to say which way we should go, obviously guided by the popular will of the Brazilian people,” he said.
Once again, Bolsonaro tries to assign to the Armed Forces a sort of Moderator Power role in Brazil, a role the Emperor assumed in Brazil’s 1822 Constitution, but that has not been a part of any subsequent Constitution, as determined by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) last year.
The president has said several times that the Armed Forces are the ones to decide whether the people live in a democracy or not.
During the launching of a program for self-employed truckers, the president referred to the fact that on Saturday, Defense Minister General Braga Netto attended and spoke during an event at the Ministries Esplanade organized by Bolsonaro supporters.
The president said that the Minister is a fellow human being and has a tremendous responsibility, pointing out that the Ministry of Defense, in charge of coordinating the Army, Navy and Air Force’s activities, is present in all four corners of Brazil.
“In any country in the world, whoever says if people will have freedom or not is the one with the power, isn’t it?,” he asked.
“I would never want to deify him, but rather to respect him above all for his initiative of accompanying us to show the Brazilian people that we have someone who wants freedom and not the opposite,” he added, referring to the fact that Braga Netto joined him in the demonstration.
The transfer of Braga Netto, formerly Bolsonaro’s Chief of Staff, to the Ministry of Defense in April also involved the replacement of all commanders of the three forces. Bolsonaro wanted a greater alignment of the Armed Forces with his political stance, which he felt did not occur under predecessor Fernando Azevedo.
Freedom
The president reiterated that freedom is more important than life, and said that it was under threat. He once again mentioned neighboring Venezuela and Argentina, in reference to countries governed by the left-wing.
He even spoke of the significance of Brazil having a freedom advocate as president in 2023, in his words, in a potential suggestion of his own name.
“We don’t have the possible best candidate for Brazil. We need to have someone in the presidency in 2023 who can meet the longing for freedom of each one of us,” he said.
Bolsonaro’s statement comes at a time when a Datafolha survey places ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) with a large advantage over him in the race for the Planalto next year.
The president said that the “only and great pleasure” he has in holding the seat of the Presidency is to prevent who would be there, in a reference to the leftist Fernando Haddad, Lula’s choice of candidate in 2018 and was defeated by Bolsonaro.
In the speech, Bolsonaro also said that there are tremendous problems in Brazil and that he needs Congress and an understanding with the Judiciary.
He said that the latter is important for the government, but pointed out that there are “some Shiites” hindering Brazil’s development.