![]() They view Lula’s efforts to tame the military as heavy-handed and misguided. Melo said Brazil’s military has long believed that it has “some kind of guardianship of the country’s political process,” and Bolsonaro only fueled that belief.īolsonaro, a former army captain, appointed more than 6,000 military officers to jobs across his government and revived an annual commemoration of the 1964 coup to stoke nostalgia for the days of military rule.Īlthough that era was marked by human rights abuses and the loss of civil liberties, Bolsonaro and many of his supporters remember it fondly as a time of strong nationalism, economic growth and conservative values. “Lula needed to manage his relationship with the military to be able to govern, and will continue to do so,” said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo. Brazilian authorities launched an operation to reclaim Yanomami Indigenous territory from thousands of illegal gold miners who have contaminated rivers and brought famine and disease to one of the most isolated populations of the world. Lula has already tapped more than 100 civilians to replace military officers Bolsonaro appointed to key positions, and he has moved oversight of the country’s intelligence agency to his chief of staff’s office, among other changes.įILE - In this image provided by IBAMA, Brazil's Environmental Agency, an agent watches as a structure and plane belonging to miners is engulfed in flames in the Yanomami Indigenous territory, Roraima state, Brazil, Feb. The military is filled with supporters of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, and its role in the new government is being diminished by the day. Brazil has lived through four military coups – the most recent one in 1964, followed by two decades of brutal dictatorship. He has strived ever since to ensure that military leaders defend South America’s largest democracy and stay out of politics. The images from Brasilia that day still haunt the left-leaning government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. ![]() SAO PAULO (AP) - When rioters stormed Brazil’s top government buildings in January to dispute the outcome of the presidential election, many soldiers stood by as far-right protesters broke windows, defecated in offices and destroyed valuable art.
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