Bolsonaro hints at use of Armed Forces unless Brazil “returns to normality”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro has again threatened to use the Armed Forces against restrictive movement policies implemented in the states, this time in a speech over lunch at a barracks in São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM).

Speaking to military personnel serving in the northernmost municipality of Amazonas, in a border region with Colombia and Venezuela, deep in the Amazon rainforest, Bolsonaro did not directly cite the measures and the actions of state governments, but reiterated his call for a “return to normality,” dismissing the Covid-19 pandemic and the over 450,000 deaths in the country.

“More than obligation and duty, I am sure that you will act within the four lines of the Constitution, if necessary,” he said. “I hope that it will not be necessary, that we will head for normality. We are not there yet, we are far from it. But no one can accuse the current president of being someone who is not democratic who does not respect the laws and who does not act within the Constitution.”

Bolsonaro has repeated that he has a decree ready to “enforce the Constitution.” The text, prepared by Federal Solicitor General André Mendonça, is intended to prevent governors from implementing measures to restrict movement, such as store closures or curfews. However, it has not been issued to date.

The president also reiterated that freedom in the country is in the hands of the military, a statement that has caused uneasiness in other occasions.

This time, he took a more political tone by mentioning the 2022 presidential election, in which he intends to run for reelection.

“We are polarized in politics. Everyone can make their own judgment about who is the best or the least bad. But I doubt that, deep down, anyone who might make an assessment of what has happened in Brazil in the past 20 years, that this person will be wrong next year,” he said.

“What we want is peace, we want progress and, above all, freedom. We know that this last wish involves you. You are the ones who decide anywhere in the world how the people will live.”

Bolsonaro is in São Gabriel da Cachoeira to officially inaugurate a bridge built by the Army on the Ya-Mirim river.

Made of wood, 18 meters long and only six meters wide, the bridge is located on a dirt road 85 kilometers from the São Gabriel da Cachoeira urban area.

According to Yanomami leaders, the tribes were told that Bolsonaro would visit one of the villages on the indigenous land, which is nearby, but the Planalto Palace did not confirm the visit, particularly after protests. The president constantly criticizes the size of the Yanomami area, which is 96,600 km².

After inaugurating the bridge, Bolsonaro has no official schedule released, but is expected to stay overnight in São Gabriel.