Virus strains Bolsonaro’s military allies
Army pushing back against Brazilian leader as outbreak passes 2 million cases
After 35 years of civilian-led democracy, President Jair Bolsonaro has created the most militarised Brazilian government since the fall of the country’s dictatorship.
Packing his Cabinet with retired and active-duty generals and giving more than 3000 government jobs to soldiers, Bolsonaro has prompted criticism from political opponents that he is co-opting the prestige of the Brazilian military to erode democratic institutions.
In recent weeks, however, influential figures in military spheres have begun a pushback against his use of the armed forces. A series of highranking retired officers, who historically give voice to the views of activeduty leaders, have begun expressing concern about Bolsonaro’s governance and heavy reliance on the military. Experts see those statements as a way of undermining any presidential schemes to unconstitutionally assert his dominance over other branches of government.
The statements have come as Brazil is swamped by the coronavirus, which Bolsonaro has downplayed as he undermined shutdowns and other preventive measures.
Since late May, three months after Brazil’s first reported case of the coronavirus, it has recorded more than 1000 daily deaths on average.
Yesterday, the federal health ministry reported that the country had passed 2 million confirmed cases of virus infections and 76,000 deaths.
Bolsonaro, himself a former Army captain, said last week that he had contracted the virus and was taking unproven malaria medication.
Both Bolsonaro’s handling of the outbreak and his own illness have been seen as embarrassing by highranking military leaders. The actions have weakened his relationship with the armed forces, experts and former military officials said.
It also prompted an attack from
Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes, who has a history of dialogue with the high command. He said the Army has associated itself with genocide during the Covid-19 pandemic. In response, Bolsonaro’s defence minister, General Fernando Azevedo, said the armed forces are fully engaged in trying to preserve lives, and he asked the country’s top prosecutor to investigate Mendes’ comments.
Two retired generals who served as Bolsonaro’s ministers said the administration lacks leadership and organisation, and can’t rely exclusively on the military to succeed.
Retired General Carlos Alberto Santos Cruz was Bolsonaro’s government secretary, but quit after six months over a rift in communications
strategy. He spent 47 years in the Army and commanded the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti (2007-2009) and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2013-2015).
He said high-ranking military officers were becoming uncomfortable with Bolsonaro’s blending of the military with his administration.
“That may be intentional to transfer the armed forces’ prestige to the administration. But it is not for lack of technocrats elsewhere.”
Bolsonaro has frequently bristled at rulings from the independent judiciary, and his biggest objection came after the Supreme Court blocked his pick to head the federal police on April 29. He joined supporters who protested the court’s action
in the capital of Brasilia and called on the military to assume a greater role.
Bolsonaro told supporters on May 3 that he had the military’s backing. The next day, the defence minister published a rare statement saying the armed forces believe the independence of government branches is “essential for the country’s governability”.
Retired General Maynard Santa Rosa, who was Bolsonaro’s strategic affairs minister for nine months, said the military will avoid drawing closer to him, but officers won’t leave the Cabinet unless there is a major scandal like the corruption cases that have marred previous administrations.
“Then there is the possibility of a step back,” Santa Rosa said.
An active-duty air force brigadier, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to talk to the press, said many military officials agree with Bolsonaro’s criticism of the Supreme Court, but the high command won’t support any authoritarian moves such as openly disobeying its rulings.
He added armed forces leaders are pressuring active-duty appointees to retire so the military isn’t confused with the administration.
Yesterday, Azevedo tried to dispel fears of a de facto military government, saying none of the other ministers speak for the high command despite their long careers in the armed forces.
Bolsonaro has doled out hundreds of other lower government jobs to military personnel, with many aimed at controlling Amazon deforestation in order to shield the country from environmental criticism
Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo, said the military has increasingly shown its discomfort with the president’s actions and poor management of the health crisis.
“It is an embarrassment for them that the president caught the virus,” Melo said. “Bolsonaro doesn’t follow rules, which are dear to military leaders who see this crisis as the challenge of their generation.”