Brazil’s Bolsonaro says he intends to use armed forces to fight violence
SAO PAULO, (Reuters) - Brazil’s leading presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro said yesterday that, if he is elected, he intends to use the armed forces for routine street patrols, describing the country as “at war.”
The far-right lawmaker and former army captain said in an interview with Band TV that he would discuss the idea with his proposed defense minister and state governments, which are responsible for public safety.
“If Congress grants permission, I would put armed forces in the streets,” Bolsonaro said.
A 63-year-old, seventerm congressman who openly defends Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship, Bolsonaro is widely expected to win the riageway with three lanes dedicated to those heading north, while one lane is being used by those heading presidency this month. Opinion polls show him leading his leftist rival Fernando Haddad by 18 percentage points just a week ahead of the Oct. 28 second-round vote.
Scrambling to make up the difference, Haddad yesterday pledged to increase benefits paid under Brazil’s top social assistance program, known as Bolsa Família, by 20 percent.
Bolsonaro, a polarizing candidate who has been charged with hate speech for his comments regarding gays, blacks and women, has pitched himself as the anti-establishment choice, appealing to voters fed up with political corruption and violent crime.
In August 2017, a year after Rio de Janeiro hosted south.
When the high tide came in at 2.29 pm today the water level also began the Olympic Games, the federal government dispatched 8,500 soldiers to quell violent crime in the city. But military officials said from the outset that they would not be the ones to resolve issues underpinning the urban violence.
On Sunday thousands of supporters took part in rallies for Bolsonaro in Brazil’s major cities, including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília. to rise again. Citizens are being urged to stay off the highway unless it is absolutely necessary.