Brazilian arms manufacturers companies are killed in the Bolsonaro era

The former military, who badumed the presidency in January, has already relaxed the possession of weapons for citizens "well" and intends to allow it to be worn.

Also threatens to lift restrictions on foreign investment in the defense and security sector, estimated at R $ 200,000 million ($ 55,000 million) annually, according to official data.

"For many years here, nothing has changed, but we are now very optimistic about the possibility of changes in the near future"says Martin Neujahr, from the Swiss firm RUAG Ammotec, next to a shelf that shows shining projectiles of high precision in the Hall of Defense and Security celebrated in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazilian police forces, says Neujahr, express particular interest in "specialized products", like subsonic bullets for snipers.

Some 450 Brazilian and foreign companies exhibit their products – from machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades to target detection technology and surveillance drones – at the LAAD (Latin American Defense) disarmament center, the largest in the region.

The vice president, Hamilton Mourao (Chairman in office since Bolsonaro went to Israel); the Minister of Defense, Fernando Azevedo and Silvat; and that of justice, Sérgio Moro.

Rio Governor Wilson Witzel also admitted that police in that state had used snipers to shoot down armed suspects in areas controlled by drug traffickers.

"Since his election, the president has advocated greater openness to foreign investment"says Robert Muggah, director of research at the Igarape Institute, a Rio-based think tank.

"But the armed forces are more reluctant and defend the strategic importance of large national groups", he adds, referring to the Taurus arms manufacturer or CBC ammunition, who dominate their markets.

The interest of foreign manufacturers was not surprising. The demand is high in a country of 209 million residents who is endemic and which, according to Global Firepower, has more than 1.6 million soldiers in its army.

But these expectations have always responded to regulations, subsidies and tax benefits that protect local manufacturers.

The chef de cabinet, Onyx Lorenzoni, said earlier this year that the government was badyzing how to open the sector.

Participants in the exhibition, including police and members of shooting clubs, were enthusiastic about the possibility of buying weapons manufactured abroad, considering them better than guns. local.

"I hope the Brazilian market will finally open and that good Brazilians have the right to have and bear arms"AFP Edgar Silva, an amateur shooter admiring the products of German Walther, told AFP.

Bolsonaro's promise to liberalize arms is nonetheless popular. According to a Datafolha survey conducted in December, 61% of respondents believe that possession of firearms should be banned because it poses a threat to the lives of others.

Despite being a country that has not had a war with its neighbors for a century and a half, Brazil is the world's third largest exporter of light weapons and ammunition, with sales annuals of nearly $ 500 million, Muggad said.

And between 2014 and 2018, Brazil accounted for 27% of arms imports into South America, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Brazilian and foreign manufacturers are also expecting an increase in government purchases in the sector. Last year, the defense budget was about 30,000 million dollars.