Tag: Michel Temer

On the campaign trail, Bolsonaro has frequently drawn comparisons to U.S. President Donald Trump. Much of Brazil views the PT as corrupt. More worrying, perhaps, is that Brazil’s powerful military is backing Bolsonaro too. For military leaders, it appears to be a question of law and order. For decades, the armed forces largely avoided direct interference in or commentary about civilian politics. But support for democracy plummeted in Brazil to merely 13 percent last year. In an article I wrote this year for the Journal of Conflict Resolution, I showed that, between 1900 and 2015, former authoritarian elites in Latin America were four times more likely to return to positions of political or economic power under democracy than to be punished for their misdeeds. Brazil’s experience is more similar to Chile’s than to Argentina’s. After more than two decades in power, Brazil’s last military regime under João Figueiredo stepped down in 1985. For all of its power and influence, the military would far rather pull the strings of a Bolsonaro presidency than step in to rule directly.

Image RIO DE JANEIRO — Members of Brazil’s armed forces, who have largely stayed out of political life since the end of the military dictatorship 30 years ago, are making their biggest incursion into politics in decades, with some even warning of a military intervention. The growing appeal of Brazil’s armed forces in politics comes amid a rightward shift in South America and rising authoritarianism in democratic nations including Poland, Hungary, the Philippines and Turkey. Mr. Bolsonaro, the first former military officer to mount a viable bid for the presidency since democracy was restored, recently said he would appoint generals to lead ministries, “not because they are generals, but because they are competent.” The campaigns seize on broad frustrations across Brazil. “This is a cry of desperation against all of this corruption,” said Luciano Zucco, a 44-year-old lieutenant colonel who took a leave of absence from the army this month to run for a state legislature seat. “There are many people trying to create the conditions for that, but for my part, I don’t believe it.” Maurício Santoro, a political scientist at Rio de Janeiro State University, said that while no one in Brazil was calling for a lasting dictatorship, many Brazilians, particularly those who did not live through military rule, found the idea of a short intervention appealing. “You have many people in Brazil who like the idea of the military throwing out the current political class and in six months calling for a new election.” The debate over such an intervention has grown as active duty and retired high-ranking generals have weighed in on political issues in ways not seen since the dictatorship years. General Bôas, the commander of the army, took the highly unusual step in April of issuing a statement on Twitter that was widely interpreted as a warning to the Supreme Court. It was a particularly big decision, because Mr. da Silva was running for president again and appeared to be the front-runner in the race. “We want to adhere to the rule of law as much as possible,” Mr. Mourão said. Military leaders still do not refer to that era as a dictatorship, contending that the armed forces in fact preserved democracy by sparing Brazil from the rule of authoritarian socialists.

Image RIO DE JANEIRO — A new Netflix series about a sprawling corruption investigation has muscled its way into Brazil’s heated politics, outraging supporters of a leftist former president who is trying to make a comeback and stirring debate about how closely a docudrama should adhere to the facts. “I think this is very serious for them.” The show’s creator, José Padilha, a Brazilian based in Los Angeles, said the furor had only benefited the series. Three successive presidents have been implicated: Mr. da Silva, who was convicted of corruption and money laundering; Ms. Rousseff, who was impeached and removed from office over unrelated charges of violating budgetary rules but also faced criminal investigations; and the incumbent, Michel Temer, who has faced charges and remains under investigation. Mr. da Silva wants to stand as a candidate in the October election, although he was convicted last year of corruption and still faces charges in six other corruption cases. The title of the Netflix series comes from Mr. Padilha’s theory, expounded in columns, that only the corrupt can get ahead in Brazilian politics. Some critics have called him a reactionary, a charge he denies; he has made donations to a smaller left-wing party that has not been embroiled in the corruption investigation. On the left, the response to Mr. Padilha’s show has been outrage. “I think he did it well, though reality is richer.” In a speech during a rally last Wednesday, Mr. da Silva said he might sue Netflix. “The series fuels already existent points of view,” he said. “A lot of what is in there is very well known to Brazilians.” But the series has found some fans among Brazilians.