On a visit to Brazil this week, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to echo calls for the military to respect the democratic system, a ministry official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Austin, retired general chosen by Joe Biden to command the American military apparatus, comes to the country to participate in the multilateral meeting on defense and security of the Americas, which has Brazil as its host for the biennium 2021/2022. The meetings take place in Brasilia.
Austin is speaking on Tuesday (26) and Wednesday (27) and, according to the report made to Reuters, he will reinforce the message about the need for the Armed Forces not to interfere in democratic pillars such as elections. The speech would not necessarily mention Brazil.
Retired army captain, Jair Bolsonaro (PL) will again have a former Armed Forces candidate as a candidate for vice on his ticket for the presidency – this time, Braga Netto, a retired military man who has served as Minister of Defense and Chief Minister of the House Civil.
During the official event of his candidacy last weekend, the president defended the role of the military in his government, raised to several administration and command posts of state-owned companies.
Democrat Tom Malinowski, a member of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Reuters that Austin should make clear that the military has a duty to allow electoral disputes to be resolved through constitutional means. “And you must remember that US law precludes our cooperation with foreign military personnel participating in anything that could resemble a coup.”
Under the current government, the military has been raising questions about the electronic voting system, something hitherto uncommon for the Armed Forces, which coincides with Bolsonaro’s speech, which seeks to discredit the model and propagate baseless speeches.
Austin’s speeches should not be interpreted as a message of interference in the elections, but rather that Washington believes in the Brazilian electoral system as capable of managing a free and fair election, added the senior defense official.
Nicholas Zimmerman, a former White House aide, told Reuters that “the risk that some members of the military will follow anti-democratic efforts must be taken seriously.”
If implemented, Austin’s speech would not be the first message of the kind from the US directed to Brazil. A week ago, Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, also made statements saying that the US trusts the Brazilian electoral system, which he describes as a model.
The speech came after Bolsonaro, in a meeting called with ambassadors, disseminated lies about electronic voting machines, discredited the electoral system, oxygenated new coup threats and attacked, again, the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
