A request by the Brazilian Army to buy Javelin anti-tank missiles from the United States, worth about $100 million, has been stalled in Washington for months due to concerns by US lawmakers over President Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) stance, including his attacks. to the Brazilian electoral system, several US sources told Reuters.
Brazil’s proposal to acquire about 220 Javelin missiles was initially made when former President Donald Trump, an ally of Bolsonaro, was in the White House. The State Department approved the proposal late last year, despite objections from some low-level officials, according to two people familiar with the matter.
But the classified agreement, which had not been previously disclosed, has since been stuck in procedural limbo amid growing concern among U.S. Democratic lawmakers over questions Bolsonaro has raised about the integrity of electronic voting machines and the security of the October election in Brazil, the sources said.
Brazil’s call for the high-tech US-made missiles, which gained fame for their effective use by Ukrainian forces against Russian armored vehicles, ended up stalled due to a Democrat-led effort to send a message to Bolsonaro and the Brazilian Armed Forces.
According to a source who follows the negotiations, they are moving slowly through Congress and “should not go anywhere anytime soon” due to uncertainties about Bolsonaro.
The impasse reinforces the impact that Bolsonaro’s attacks on the electoral system have had and indicates how Brazil could become more isolated internationally if Bolsonaro follows Trump’s example and refuses to accept an eventual defeat in the October election. He currently appears behind former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in polls.
The administration of US President Joe Biden, still haunted by the invasion of the Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, has been increasingly distressed by Bolsonaro’s authoritarian comments, even sending delegations to BrasÃlia to ask for caution.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to Brazil with a message of respect for democracy at a meeting of defense ministers from the region in July. The statement followed a visit last year by CIA director William Burns, in which he told top Bolsonaro aides that the president should stop undermining confidence in the country’s electoral process.
Bolsonaro has ignored the appeals. Instead, he continues to question the credibility of Brazil’s electronic voting system and has alleged fraud in recent elections, without providing evidence.
‘Brazil does not need missiles’
The post-election role of the Armed Forces, which ran a military dictatorship for two decades after the 1964 coup, is an open question. Bolsonaro has asked the army to carry out its own parallel vote count, saying the Armed Forces are on his side.
The US is also concerned about the environmental setback under Bolsonaro, as well as his friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine he has refused to condemn.
Manufactured by defense giants Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Technologies Corp, the Javelin has become one of the most recognizable weapons in the world due to its success against Russian tanks in the Ukrainian War.
Brazil does not face similar threats, raising questions about why the country would need such firepower, sources said. The Brazilian Armed Forces are mainly focused on protecting its borders, which are among the largest in the world, and on carrying out international peacekeeping missions. According to a former congressional aide familiar with the issue, “Brazil doesn’t need them.”
Another source said the State Department’s support for the missile sale showed the US wanted to satisfy Brazil to help improve relations with one of Washington’s most important military allies in the region.
The Planalto Palace sent a request for answers on the subject to the Ministry of Defense, which did not respond to a series of questions. The State Department also declined to comment.
The missile purchase order came in 2020 at a time of heating up in US-Brazil ties under Trump and Bolsonaro. In 2019, Trump designated Brazil as a first-tier non-NATO U.S. ally, allowing greater access to weaponry manufactured by U.S. companies. The deal cut through Trump-era bureaucracy and was inherited by Biden, a Democrat less friendly to Bolsonaro than his Republican predecessor.
Still, the State Department under Biden gave a preliminary positive nod to the deal after what a person familiar with the matter described as only superficial discussions, ignoring the concerns of US diplomats in Brazil and lower-ranking officials in Washington.
According to a US government source, State Department officials have expressed concerns about the sale — given Bolsonaro’s rhetoric and the military’s past stance — but those issues are not shared within the Defense Department or the Foreign Ministry’s leadership.
The State Department then submitted the proposed sale for an “informal” review by the two Democrats who chair Congress’ foreign affairs committees and the two top Republican members of the boards. Congressional sources say the issue has not progressed due to concerns from lawmakers, including Senator Bob Menendez and Representative Gregory Meeks, who are Democrats like Biden.
They have raised a number of questions with the State Department, from Bolsonaro’s human rights record to whether Brazil needs such weapons, according to a congressional source, suggesting lawmakers at least want to delay the sale until after hours. elections in Brazil.
A spokesperson said the collegiate does not comment on cases of arms sales under review, adding that Meeks takes into account a number of points when reviewing such transactions, including diplomatic and security dynamics as well as human rights concerns.
There are no indications that the two Republicans also considering the Brazilian request, Senator Jim Risch and Representative Michael McCaul, have expressed any reservations, sources said.
The State Department acknowledged, in response to lawmakers, that Javelin missiles do not protect against any specific threat Brazil faces, a US official said. But the department argued that Brazil’s attempt to upgrade its anti-armor capability is legitimate and that the country is looking for a reasonable number of missiles, the official added.
SIGNIFICANT OBSTACLES
Despite tensions between Biden and Bolsonaro, the US remained open to the sale of arms to Brazil, with the view that Brazil has the right to acquire military equipment as it sees fit and in accordance with US law.
Even if the sale moves to the next phase — a full congressional review — it will still face significant hurdles. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who chairs the subcommittee on Western countries, said he would like to closely examine any sales. Selling weapons to Brazil, he told Reuters, “is not something I would immediately feel we should do.”
Demand for Javelins has skyrocketed since the beginning of the Ukrainian War. Therefore, even if the agreement is approved, it could take years for Brazil to receive the missiles, due to an order backlog, with priority for other US partners.
If the request is denied, sources argue that Brazil has other options, mainly the HJ-12, the cheaper Chinese version of the Javelin.
