Article originally published on the website Mídia Ninja
The failed coup attempt by the extreme right heated up the debate about the role of the Armed Forces (FAs) in the democratic regime. Those who oppose the coup understand that they were lenient in tolerating the coup camps in front of the barracks for months, while the coup supporters say they were cowardly in not forcibly preventing Lula from taking office.
The high degree of politicization and ideologization between police and military promoted by the past government left sequels. The alleged involvement of former military ministers in the coup strategy, such as Braga Neto and Augusto Heleno, multiplies doubts about the political impartiality and democratic commitment of the FAs. Thousands of soldiers who were co-opted for civilian positions were exonerated, and those who are on active duty return, resentful, to their original functions.
Last Wednesday (18), General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva, then military commander of the Southeast, made an emphatic speech in defense of political impartiality and professionalism in the FAs, during a ceremony at the Integrated Headquarters, in São Paul. On Friday, the president met with military commanders to define a positive defense policy agenda, in a “page-turned” climate.
breach of trust
On Saturday, however, to everyone’s surprise, Lula dismissed the commander of the Army, General Julio Cesar de Arruda, who had been at the meeting the day before, when the coup attempt was not discussed. It was agreed that the relevant investigations would remain the responsibility of the Federal Police, subordinated to the STF, and that the eventual culprits would be punished, whether civil or military.
Arruda’s disagreement with Lula began over the appointment, by the former, of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro César Barbosa Cid, Bolsonaro’s former assistant, to command an elite army battalion in Goiânia, 200 km from the capital. Cid was one of the former president’s closest advisors, he participated in the dissemination of fake news and offenses against Lula, which led to his inclusion among those investigated by the STF and to the discovery that an immense crack powered by corporate cards. The information is that Arruda would have resisted exonerating the Bolsonarist military.
The last straw, probably, was the release by the press of more details of the conversations held, on the night of January 8, in Brasília, between Arruda, other military personnel, ministers of the Lula government, the recently appointed Public Security intervenor of the DF, Ricardo Cappeli, and the then commander of the Military Police of the DF, Fábio Augusto Vieira.
The ministers of Defense, Justice and the Civil House Office, in addition to Capelli and Vieira, met with Arruda to facilitate the removal of the coup-mongering camp installed months ago in front of the Army Headquarters and to arrest its participants , after the depredation of the headquarters of the Three Powers. Arruda not only did not agree with the action, but he even threatened to stop it with the use of his troops. The atmosphere heated up, with an argument between Arruda and the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino. After tempers had calmed down, the arrangement was that the camp would be dismantled and the arrests would take place the following morning. After all that, Lula demanded Arruda’s dismissal and replaced him with Ribeiro Paiva.
The professionalization of the FAs requires training and valuing its staff, without any discrimination based on gender, race, religion or political opinion. But it cannot be achieved by protecting or promoting those who act against democracy.
training with science
In the preparatory negotiations for the meeting between Lula and the military commanders, members of the forces signaled to government interlocutors that, in the name of a positive coexistence in the coming years, they hoped to see their customs, customs and traditions respected. Among them, the need for non-interference by the government in the curricula of military schools would have been mentioned. There is nothing on the subject in Lula’s government program.
In addition to the specific discussion about curricula, painful experiences in recent years show a serious picture of ignorance and denial of science, from command to troop. This was the case in combating the new coronavirus pandemic, in which the Ministry of Defense plunged into the distribution of chloroquine, including among indigenous people, when there was already scientific evidence of its ineffectiveness for this purpose.
Another glaring example is that of climate denialism. The dominant thinking in the FAs continues to treat the threat of climate change as if they were an environmentalist fake, when there are no longer any scientific doubts about global warming, having as its main cause the excessive emission of methane, carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere. Deliberate ignorance of the issue makes recent “strategic” studies ridiculous, such as “Projeto de Nação: Brasil 2035”, formulated by three important military NGOs.
climate emergency
I’m not talking about speculative knowledge or specific studies, but scientific accumulation over time. There is no need for the civilian government to impose content similar to military curricula. Military leaders themselves must do so, in the manner most appropriate to their uses and customs. In these cases, the denial of the truth is not a question of ideological choice, but takes its toll in lives, many lives, including military personnel and family members.
Nor are these scientific projections, but overwhelming factual realities. The increase in temperature enhances the violence of storms, with greater volume of water in less time. It also favors the lengthening of droughts, with increasing impacts on agriculture, city supply and energy generation. Rising sea levels already affect islands and coastal regions with violent storm surges and erosion.
The climate crisis already affects the economy of all countries, although the vulnerabilities are different; intensifies internal and external migratory flows; it contributes to increased thirst, hunger, the spread of disease and violence. Brazil needs the human and operational capacity and the structural capillarity of the FAs to protect the people, the territory and the economy from the impacts of climate change.
Several countries have public and private military institutions dedicated to the strategic implications of climate change, as well as forums for international debates. According to their uses, customs and traditions, the FAs need to make up for lost time and organically incorporate the climate emergency into their strategic vision, before it is too late.