The army at an impasse

Brazil remains drowned in the growing wave of coronavirus, which has officially claimed more than 335,000 lives.

Studies conducted by hospitals and approved by specialists, doctors and scientists indicate that until last Friday there would be 443 thousand.

Less than 5% of Brazil’s 5,570 municipalities have 443,000 inhabitants.

With around 3% of the world’s population, Brazil has so far recorded 33% of the total number of deaths from covid-19. These are frightening figures: in a single day, that of March 31, the world recorded 11,769 deaths, of which 3,869 were in Brazil.

There is no trace of light on the horizon. On the contrary: several specialists warn of the high risk of reaching 500,000 deaths before the end of April. And the action of the far right and unbalanced Jair Bolsonaro has contributed and is contributing decisively to this tragedy.

It is not without reason that the grotesque is called genocidal. He leads a government of cancellations complicit in what he promotes. And those who command Congress and refuse to uproot it are just as complicit.

Faced with this unprecedented tragedy in Brazilian history, a question arises: what about the military?

After all, the genocide government is totally militarized. There are like six thousand, half of which are active, scattered everywhere. More than half of the states are controlled by men in uniform. Almost half of the ministries also.

Genocida only became president because in 2018 the army commander-in-chief Eduardo Villas Boas warned the Supreme Court that if he granted the habeas corpus requested by Lula there would be a strong backlash. of the Army.

An attack on democracy, but typical of the permanent position of the armed forces of my country: to threaten the institutions. And when threats fail, tear them apart.

The current generation that leads the armed forces was created and fattened under the dictatorship: they were all young apprentices of the coup.

The Supreme Court’s submission paved the way for the leadership of the worst, most despicable and unbalanced president in the history of the Republic. And for the installation of this militarized government.

Last Monday, a crisis erupted between Bolsonaro and the army. In a horrific manner, the President shot dead his Minister of Defense, retired General Fernando Azevedo e Silva.

In immediate reaction, the commanders of the three forces resigned their posts. Despite this, and to show absolute authority, Bolsonaro dismissed them.

When it comes to choosing the new leaders, another dead end: for the Air Force and the Navy, no problem.

Already in the army, the scene was tense. The president wanted one he trusted, but members of the high command sent him a list with three other names. Harassed without preamble, he was forced to name General Paulo Cesar Nogueira, precisely the stupid one who triggered the crisis and the dismissal of the Minister of Defense, General Azevedo e Silva.

Angered by Nogueira’s statements to the press, defending social isolation measures and the use of masks, Bolsonaro had pressured the then army commander, General Edson Pujol, to punish the subordinate. Faced with Pujol’s refusal, he put pressure on the then defense minister, who also did not accept the mission.

Bolsonaro had previously warned them both, demanding, to no avail, that they condemn the Supreme Court’s initiative to quash the proven rigged trials against former President Lula, giving him back the chance to stand for election.

The week ended with a very tense and intense atmosphere in Brazil. It has become clear that Bolsonaro’s repeated hints that he could take strong action with the support of the armed forces are unfounded. Worse: that the unrest among the military has increased.

There is a strong refusal among active senior officers to further corrode the already weakened image of the armed forces. They do not want to continue to identify with a government which, more than chaotic, is responsible for an unprecedented genocide.

With a decisive turnout to prevent Lula from participating in the 2018 trial, they were complicit in electing a hopelessly unbalanced person. With thousands of uniformed soldiers dispersed by the worst government in the history of the Republic, many of whom are still active, they attempted to convey the idea that they would be the counterweight to the grotesque primate.

They missed. We don’t know what they’re going to do from now on: keep trying, with retired military personnel scattered across government, to control the monster they helped create?

Bolsonaro already knows he doesn’t have the top military commanders for the coup he’s considering. Are you looking for another type of backup?

It should be remembered that during the coup that overthrew Evo Morales in Bolivia, the police forces were much more decisive than the armed forces. Someone must have whispered this point in Bolsonaro’s ear.