In Brazil, the balance sheet of Bolsonaro is thin; the army was in the center


[ad_1]

RIO DE JANEIRO – In 27 years as a Congressman, Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's leading presidential candidate, has tabled only two legislative proposals: one to extend tax benefits to the technology sector information and the other

This is not to say that the former captain of the army, better known for his comments on women, gays and minorities who have earned him fines and even formal charges, has not not put forward his ideas.

The Associated Press reviewed and categorized the 642 documents filed by Bolsonaro since it entered the Congress in 1991. These included proposals for new laws, amendments to existing laws, requests for information to ministers, and calls for proposals. commemoration.

The picture that emerges is that of a candidate who wants above all to help the army while being openly hostile to homosexuals, transsexuals and any attempt to relax the laws on abortion in the country. Bolsonaro's few legislative successes and his apparent inability to convince other lawmakers to join his ideas raise questions about how he would govern in a multi-party environment where coalition-building is essential.

"There is a strong contrast between the advance (Bolsonaro) in the presidential elections and its very poor performance over nearly 30 years in Congress," said Mauricio Santoro, professor of political science at Rio State University from Janeiro.

The Bolsonaro campaign did not respond to several requests for comments for this story. The candidate, who has both a strong clientele and many detractors, has only recently left the hospital after being stabbed during his September 6 campaign.

While Bolsonaro has made the fight against crime and the fight against corruption the centerpiece of his campaign, he never quotes his record and rarely mentions his passage to Congress. Instead, Bolsonaro, who was part of nine political parties during his congressional career, with the Social Liberal Party being the latest, presents himself as an outsider ready to take office.

As a member of Congress, his top priorities were the army and the police, which accounted for 220 of his deposits, or one in three. His proposals ranged from improving the benefits and health care of the military, including veterans of the Second World War, to protecting against criminal prosecution of police who used force or even death during his job.

Bolsonaro, who, as a candidate, promised to fill his cabinet of generals, proposed in 2016 to let the military leaders choose the minister of defense of the government to avoid a leader with a vision "Marxist".

In one of its most controversial proposals, Bolsonaro asked the Lower House of Deputies in 2013 to hold an official session to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the dictatorship of 1964-1985.

"The Brazilian people have hired armed forces to defend order, respect for democracy and avoid future Cubanization," he wrote, referring to the Cuban revolution of 1959 that put Fidel Castro in power. .

Like the vast majority of Bolsonaro's proposals, none has been successful.

As a legislator, Bolsonaro's second area of ​​interest was security: 88 depots, or about one in seven. These ranged from several calls for the relaxation of gun laws to the increase in the number of firearms. jail sentence for robbery involving motorcycles.

None of his proposals implied a comprehensive approach to the fight against crime, one of the central issues of the campaign. Instead, Bolsonaro's bills addressed issues at the margin.

"At the time of Bolsonaro in the Chamber of Deputies, he did not present any elaborate proposal destined to become a state policy," said José Alvaro Moises, professor of political science at the 39, University of Sao Paulo, adding that its bills the big problems of Brazil. "

Bolsonaro's productivity was low compared to other legislators. Ivan Valente, a member of the Socialist Party and Freedom Party who entered Congress four years after Bolsonaro, tabled 1,507 bills and signed five laws.

In 2013, Bolsonaro proposed to repeal a law requiring hospitals to provide physical and psychological services to victims of sexual violence. He interpreted the law as an attempt "to introduce abortion in Brazil" because services could include helping a sexual assault victim to avoid an unwanted pregnancy, as with the morning after pill. With few exceptions, abortion is illegal in Brazil.

Legislative documents depict a candidate who opposes positive discrimination and is anti-gay and transgender.

In 2003, Bolsonaro protested against a proposal being considered by a committee to establish a "National Gay Pride and Gay Conscience Day." Bolsonaro wrote that it was up to the entire chamber, not just the committee, to decide whether young Brazilians should be influenced to think that "being gay or gay is a matter of pride for themselves and their parents."

In 2011, Bolsonaro sought clarification from the Minister of Education of the time, Fernando Haddad, presidential candidate second in the polls, before Bolsonaro, on material distributed in public schools to fight against terrorism. # 39; homophobia. Bolsonaro wrote that such a material "stimulates the idolatry of homosexuality and facilitates the rise of pedophilia".

In 2015, Bolsonaro proposed to suspend a resolution on how transgender people should be accepted and integrated into public schools. His central argument was that the installation of more bathrooms and locker rooms would be a financial burden for the government.

While Bolsonaro represents the state of Rio de Janeiro, there is not much in his record to indicate that he has tried to bring him many benefits. This is in stark contrast to many politicians whose main objective is to provide funds to their districts.

Indeed, the most Rio-centered thing that Bolsonaro seems to have advanced was in 2014, when it proposed to award Porto Real, a city of 18,000 inhabitants, the honorary title of "cradle of Italian colonization in Brazil". According to his proposal, West Rio received the first contingent of Italian immigrants to the country.

Many deposits were thin and yet filled with symbolism that could provoke cultural wars.

In 1998, Bolsonaro proposed to invite all citizens to put the right hand on the left chest when the national anthem is played or the Brazilian flag is displayed.

In 2006, he proposed to impose racial quotas on the 513 deputies elected to the House, arguing that it would be fair representation in a country where more than 50% would identify as a Black or Metis race. While the proposal seemed odd on the part of someone who had spoken out against racial quotas in universities, Bolsonaro made it clear that he was pleading against such a system.

"Even if I wrote this proposal, I would vote against," he wrote at the end of the two-page proposal.

In 2009, he proposed to hang a crucifix on the wall during sessions in the Chamber of Deputies and to provide Bibles to legislators to remind them that "God, country and family" are the core of values ​​that the government of Canada has. humanity should defend.

Several calls for commemoration are scattered throughout the depots.

In 1995, Bolsonaro proposed the National Sports Day in honor of the Brazilian Formula 1 driver, Ayrton Senna Da Silva, who died from an accident the previous year. Bolsonaro called for a "vote of honor" for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2005 because his judicial system had sentenced a Brazilian drug dealer to death. He wanted a similar tribute to US President Barack Obama for the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011.

"Looking at his record, you have an idea of ​​what he proposed and his basic ideas," said David Fleischer, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Brasilia. "He has been in Congress for a long time but really has not done much."

____

Follow Peter Prengaman: twitter.com/peterprengaman

Follow Beatrice Christofaro: twitter.com/@beachristofaro

Follow Marcelo Silva from Sousa: twitter.com/@sdsmarce

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.

[ad_2]Source link