Threat Of Military Coup Rises In Brazil

Talk of an impending military coup is growing in Brazil as Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the South American country and many have now lost faith in the nation’s leader, Jair Bolsonaro. As Greenwich Time reports:

As Latin America’s largest nation grapples with its gravest health and economic challenges in a generation, and Bolsonaro flounders under the pressure, the specter of the armed forces is looming larger over public life than at any time since the fall of the military dictatorship in 1985.

As scandals have engulfed his presidency, the right-wing populist, a and former Army captain, has broadened the portfolios of the generals and former generals in his administration, allowing one to introduce a large economic aid package, undercutting his own finance minister. His most radical supporters are urging a military takeover of the government – and Bolsonaro has attended their rallies, amplifying their calls…

“We are not going to tolerate interference – our patience has ended,” he told a crowd in Brasilia calling this month for the removal of congressional leader Rodrigo Maia. “We have the people on our side, and we have the Armed Forces on the side of the people.”…

As allies abandon Bolsonaro and calls for his removal gain momentum, the political lines are being drawn. Critics are calling Bolsonaro a mortal threat to democracy. Supporters counter that Bolsonaro is, in fact, the only man who can save Brazil – from a corrupt ruling class, from officials imposing restrictions on movement and commerce, from checks and balances that have blocked the mandate Bolsonaro won with 55 percent of the vote in 2018.

For decades Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship, so a move by the military to restore order wouldn’t be completely unprecedented, at least by Brazilian standards.

 

 

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