THE military in Brazil have been charting its return to politics for a long time, and Jair Bolsonaro provided a civilian package for the military’s return to governing in 2018.
A year ahead of Brazil’s next democratic elections which will be held in October next year, the military is assessing how best to position itself, and behind which democratic candidate. Bolsonaro militarised his government by making 10 of his 23 members of cabinet active duty reserve members of the military, appointing generals as his vice-president, minister of health and chief of staff, and handing the management of public enterprises over to the generals.
More than 6 157 military men and women have been serving in his administration – twice as many as those who served under former president Michel Temer. With 18.6% of government positions appointed under Bolsonaro occupied by military personnel, there are more military officers in power in Brazil than under the military dictatorship between 1964 and 1985.
All this pleased the military top brass as it was a realisation of their plans, but to sustain their indirect military rule, they cannot afford to lose the trust of the people, and they are all too well aware that Bolsonaro has been a huge disappointment in terms of his governance record, and he is majorly discredited due to his catastrophic management of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has left more than 566 000 dead. Brazil has the second-highest Covid-19 death toll in the world.
Many of the generals don’t want to end up sinking with Bolsonaro’s ship, and are distancing themselves from him, and preparing to come back under a more palatable and “credible” candidate.
From the perspective of the military, a potential plan B is the US trained and military decorated judge Sergio Moro, who had helped get Bolsonaro into power in 2018, by ensuring the jailing of former president Lula da Silva. Moro, who has a new home in the US, recently returned to Brazil to discuss his possible candidacy in the next elections with the centre right Podemos Party.
There were discussions around Moro on a presidential ticket with the incumbent Vice-President General Mourao as his deputy. There have been visits to Brazil in quick succession by the director of the CIA and the US National Security Adviser to show support for Moro.
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Source: IOL
