An amendment submitted to the NDAA, the annual Defense Budget of the United States, asks the US government to investigate whether the Armed Forces of Brazil are interfering in the elections.
“Within 30 days after the enactment of this law, the Secretary of State must submit a report to Congress on all actions taken by the Armed Forces of Brazil in relation to the country’s presidential elections, scheduled for October 2022”, provides for amendment 893. , included in the proposed fiscal year 2023 budget bill, finalized this week.
The document cites points to be investigated: interference in the vote count, manipulation to try to reverse the result and participation in disinformation campaigns to question the electoral system and the results through protests, social networks or other means of communication.
If some of these points are verified, Brazil could be framed in Section 7008, which provides for the end of US security assistance to countries in which there is a coup d’etat or military attacks on democracy, which could jeopardize the condition of the Brazil as a non-NATO ally, obtained in 2019.
The position makes Brazil a preferred military partner, with easy access to the purchase of military equipment, some at cost price, in addition to cooperation for training and research into new technologies.
Amendment 893 was proposed by Democratic Representative Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, along with fellow Democrats Albio Sires (New Jersey), JoaquÃn Castro (Texas), Susan Wild (Pennsylvania), Ilhan Omar (Minnessota) and Hank Johnson (Georgia). . The proposal, like the Defense Budget, must be approved by Congress, in a process to be completed by October, when the fiscal year begins.
Brazilian military began to question the electoral system in 2021. In August, LuÃs Roberto Barroso, then president of the TSE, invited the Armed Forces to participate in the Commission for the Transparency of Elections, which also brings together representatives of Congress, the Federal Police and other entities. .
In this commission, the military made 88 questions about the voting system, in addition to suggestions for changes in the rules of the election. Almost all the proposals were rejected by the TSE. In some cases, court technicians pointed out errors in calculations and confusion of concepts in the analysis of the military.
The questions raised by the military are used by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to reinforce doubts about the Brazilian electoral system, something he has done several times throughout his term. Bolsonaro is running for re-election, and these questions can be used as a reason not to accept a defeat at the polls, repeating a tactic used by former President Donald Trump in the US in 2020.
The Republican refused to recognize the result, pressured officials to change numbers and incited a mob to defend him. His supporters stormed Congress in January 2021 to try to prevent Joe Biden’s victory from being confirmed. The action is investigated by the FBI and a congressional commission.
“The attention of Democrats, including those more conservative, comes from a real concern that what happened in the United States will be repeated in Brazil with an attempted coup. They understand that the risk exists and they don’t want the US to be behind it.” , evaluates Juliana Moraes, institutional relations adviser at the Washington Brazil Office, an entity that researches the relationship between the two countries.
