The United States should not participate in the September 7 naval parade in Rio de Janeiro, an event to commemorate the Bicentennial of Independence that is being kidnapped by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) as an act of support for himself and his coup theories against the system. electoral.
It’s a politically sensitive situation that Americans don’t want to be associated with. The US, Brazil and 20 other countries will have military ships in Rio during the week of the event. They will participate in the traditional multinational Unitas exercise, and foreign forces present with vessels were invited to the parade.
The stop will leave the sea in front of Recreio dos Bandeirantes and go to Leme. In its final stretch, in Copacabana, there will be the platform created by Bolsonaro to replace the traditional civic-military parade of 7 de Setembro in the center of the city.
Unitas has been held since 1960, being the longest running exercise of its kind in the world — it is focused on the Americas, but has guests from as far away as the UK, Spain, South Korea and Namibia this year. Brazil had already been chosen before Bolsonaro was elected to host this year’s edition, precisely to coincide with the Bicentennial celebrations.
The simulation of attacks and maneuvers is coordinated by the US, which usually sends two to four vessels to lead the approximately 20 ships and submarines that participate in war games. This edition will have 5,500 military personnel involved, from September 10th to 22nd.
The opening ceremony will be a little earlier, on the 8th, after the naval parade. Until last week, 11 of the 22 participants had informed the Navy that they could participate in the event, and according to military personnel, the Americans were among them. For now, they are expected.
The size of the parade, which should be led by the Cisne Branco, a sailboat used as a diplomatic and public relations symbol of the Navy, and the Brazilian flagship, the Atlântico multipurpose helicopter carrier, is not yet known.
But the decision taken in Washington is to avoid association with the Bolsonar event, according to the Sheet heard from people with knowledge of the subject. There are here inverted echoes of another historical moment: in 1964, the US set up a naval operation, Brother Sam, to support the coup plotters, which ended up not being necessary.
In addition to an eventual change of orientation, there may, however, be American participation in some other event in the port region of Rio, which will have cultural exhibitions and visits to warships moored there. Indeed, although it does not comment on the matter, the US Embassy released a note this Monday (29) with a very diplomatic tone about the event.
“After the arrival of multinational forces in Brazil, the initial phase in the port area will include cultural exchanges, sporting events and community projects. In addition, Unitas-2022 partner nations will be able to participate in Brazilian bicentennial events, such as the Naval Parade” , says the text, carefully promoting the event but not confirming participation.
Among the military, there is expectation about Chile’s position, given that Bolsonaro insulted President Gabriel Boric by lying in the debate with other candidates for the Planalto on Sunday (28), saying that his colleague had depredated public property in the 2019 protests in the Andean country. . So far, however, Chilean diplomacy says that the frigate Williams will participate.
Once the provision on the stop is confirmed, it will be the third eloquent message given by the US about the Brazilian electoral process. After Bolsonaro called on ambassadors, including the American chargé d’affaires, to listen to a lecture in which he repeated lies that have been circulated about the security of electronic voting machines, the embassy published an unusual note qualifying the Brazilian elections as a model for the world.
Among members of the Brazilian military leadership, placed at the forefront of the Bolsonarista campaign due to the support of the Minister of Defense, retired general Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, to the questions made to the Superior Electoral Court about the ballot boxes, the message was clear.
In the view of the Army High Command, the Americans made it clear that they would no longer repeat 1964, when they supported the military coup that gave rise to the dictatorship always praised by Bolsonaro.
The second message came soon after, in the field in uniform, when the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, reinforced the idea of ​​civilian control over the Armed Forces during a meeting with his peers in BrasÃlia. Nogueira nodded and reiterated the country’s democratic commitment to the precepts set by multilateral organizations.
The Bolsonarista politicization of 7 de Setembro had already occurred last year, when the president preached against decisions of the Federal Supreme Court that he considers persecutory. The institutional reaction was disorderly, but in the end, tempers were calmed with the Executive’s assault by the center.
Keeping with the president’s practice, calm preceded another crisis this year, particularly between Bolsonaro and the now president of the TSE, Supreme Minister Alexandre de Moraes. The magistrate’s decisions against businessmen who support the president have fueled even more tempers, with the political wing of the government saying it is trying to demote the head of radicalization on the national holiday.
In BrasÃlia, at least three heads of state will be present at the usual parade on the Esplanada dos Ministérios. The event in Rio ended up being structured as a stage for the candidate for reelection, despite the veiled resistance of the Army, in the Bolsonarista Copacabana.
