Brazil’s Senate is now reviewing a citizen-backed proposal that would allow the country to build a nuclear bomb.
This idea, first submitted in 2020 by Vito Angelo Duarte Pascaretta, a doctor from Paraná, gained almost 21,000 signatures from people across Brazil.
The main argument is that a nuclear weapon could help Brazil stop foreign interference, especially in the Amazon region.
The Senate’s Human Rights and Participatory Legislation Commission will first decide if the proposal should become a formal bill.
If approved, it would then need to pass both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The proposal’s progress has been slow.
Senator Marcos Pontes recently took over as the official reviewer, but there is no sign yet of strong political support.
This debate comes as the world faces new nuclear threats. The U.S. recently bombed Iranian nuclear sites, and China, North Korea, and Russia have all increased their nuclear activities.
Some European and Asian countries are now talking about building their own nuclear weapons, worried that the U.S. might not always protect them.
In Brazil, the proposal uses the Amazon’s vulnerability as its main reason.
The author points to a 2020 statement by then-U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden, who warned of possible sanctions over Amazon deforestation.
However, during his presidency, Biden did not punish Brazil, and instead, the U.S. donated $50 million to the Amazon Fund.
Brazil’s nuclear program focuses on peaceful uses. The country enriches uranium for its two nuclear power plants and is developing technology for a nuclear-powered submarine.
Brazil can enrich uranium to 3-5% for energy and aims for up to 20% for submarines, but it does not make weapons-grade uranium or have missiles or bombers to deliver nuclear weapons.
Brazil once had a secret military nuclear program between the 1970s and 1990s, but it ended when Brazil joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1998.
Today, the country’s constitution allows only peaceful nuclear activities, and international inspectors monitor Brazil’s nuclear sites.
A 2024 survey by Datafolha found that 47% of Brazilians would support building a nuclear bomb only if another country threatened Brazil.
If the U.S. promised to protect Brazil, support dropped to 27%. This shows that most Brazilians do not want nuclear weapons unless they feel directly threatened.
Brazil’s nuclear bomb proposal highlights concerns about national security and independence.
However, Brazil’s laws, international agreements, and public opinion make it unlikely the country will build nuclear weapons soon.