NERINT. Paulo Fagundes Visentini 1 and Leonardo Augusto Peres 2

Transcription

1 The National Question in Contemporary Brazil: The stance of the Army - Paulo Fagundes Visentini 1 and Leonardo Augusto Peres 2 Public addresses by the Army Commander, General Eduardo Dias da Costa Villas Bôas, highlight the lack of a national project in the political and ideological spectrum in the context of political crisis in Brazil. General Villas Bôas has been stating that the Army will continue to act based exclusively on the provisions set forth by the Constitution, respecting the principles of stability, legality, and legitimacy. The Armed Forces have adopted a strategy of direct dialogue with the civil society to try to determine a Defense policy and a national project for Brazil in the 21st centuryworld. Presentation The current crisis in Brazil brings attention to the lack of a national project throughout the political and ideological spectrum. Precisely because of this, the stance of the Brazilian Army is increasingly noteworthy, through the public addresses of its commander, General Eduardo Dias da Costa Villas Bôas. Not only he advocated democratic and constitutional legality (a veiled response to extremist demonstration from various sources), but, must of all, he emphasized the importance of unity for a threatened nation.this is relevant because the current situation of quasi-paralysis of the state and of political division, social chaos and economic downturn may be undermining the very foundations of the Nation. General Villas Bôas was appointed Commander of the Army in February 5th, 2015, in the beginning of the Dilma Rousseff administration. Complementary Law no. 117/2004 defined the Army s attributions under the supervision of its Commander, which werethen consolidated by Complementary Law no. 136/2010. Thus, besides overseeing the constitutional responsibilities of the Armyarising from its Article 142, and of being part of the National Defense Council, the Commander is responsible for coordinating three secondary tasksparticular to the Army: helping to formulate policies regarding the employment of Ground Forces; cooperating in the execution of engineering projects; and supporting the repression, inside the national territory, of crimes that may have national or international repercussion. The crisis during the second Dilma Rousseff Administration In September 2015, in an interview for 1 Editor, Full Professor of International Relations at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Coordinator of the Brazilian Centre for Strategy & International Relations () and Researcher for CNPq. 2 PhD candidate in Political Science at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Master in International Relations by the University of Brasília (UnB). Bachelor in International Relations at the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM). 47

2 Correio Braziliense, the General expressed his concern about the cuts of expenditure for Army - projects, which he deemed prejudicial to the national defense industry. The industry had been recovering, according to him, since the Luís Inácio Lula da Silva administration, especially after it issued the National Defense Strategy during the tenure of Nelson Jobim as Minister of Defense. Those cuts would weaken Brazilian capacity to project its power, since they would limit its capacity to project its force, undermining a national project. The Commander, however, did not impute the cuts to political issues, but to economic troubles the country faced. Despite his concern about the wage gap in the Armed Forces and about international drug trafficking, Villas Bôas was confident about the role of the Army in the political crisis Brazilwas then undergoing: The Army will comply with what the Constitution determines. It is not our role to be protagonists in this process. Today, Brazil has very well-structured institutions, solid, functioning perfectly, complying with their roles, sparing society from having to care for them. There are no shortcuts in this path (Villas Bôas apud Dubeux et al 2015). He concluded by mocking demonstrators who asked for a military intervention in Brazil: even though he admitted that the Army represents values lacking in Brazilian society, he guaranteed that the Army prioritizes stability, legality, and legitimacy. Therefore, he affirmed that it is an institution of the state, guided by its rules: The Army is disciplined, coherent, and performing well its role (Villas Bôas apud Dubeux et al 2015). guaranteed that there was no chance of a military intervention on the Brazilian political crisis, even though some political sectors were demanding it. He reiterated the tripod of stability, legality, and legitimacy, besides reinforcing the unity of the Brazilian Army and the how solid the institutions of the state are. He concluded by considering the existence of a fundamentalist environmentalism of international organizations that aim at preventing that the full potential of the Amazon region is exploited, especially regarding energy; and by stressing the lessons from his time as a military attaché to China, which he claimed is a country with a national sense that Brazil must recover, through renewed national cohesion. Vising the Northeast Military Command, during the same month, the General stated that people do not want the military back. We live in a democratic regime, in which institutions work normally. What people want, in fact, are the values they identify with the military: ethics, honesty, honor, commitment to the Nation (Villas Bôas apud Sampaio 2015). In November 2015, Villas Bôas fired the Commander of the South Military Command, after the latter made a public address favoring the destitution of the President. Villas Bôas stated that his decision was made in the name of stability and security, indicating that all declarations by the Army must bemade institutionally. He further warned that the funding for Army activities was threatened, which could even lead to it becoming unprofessional. He added that the Integrated Border Monitoring System (Sisfron) was also threatened, concluding that even though the basic equipment of Brazilian soldiers were still up to date, other strategic equipment could be impaired by the cuts: missiles, rockets, complex systems, anti-air artillery. In the following month, Villas Bôas, in an interview for the newspaper Zero Hora, once again Journalist Simone Kafruni highlighted the repercussion of the General s claims that the 48

3 cuts would send the defense industry back 30 to 40 years. Kafruni interviewed the Chairman -of the Senate International Relations and National Defense Committee, who then was Senator Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, of PSDB, and the Chairwoman of the House of Representatives International Relations and National Defense Committee, who then was Representative Jô Moraes, of PCdoB. Moraes highlighted the strategic importance of the national defense industry: we depend on the United States industry even for using GPS, for example (Moraes apud Kafruni 2015). The Michel Temer Administration and the continuation of political instability At the end of 2016, General Villas Bôas was direct when stating that it was impossible for the military to seize power, and labeled those who asked for an intervention by the Army foolish and crazy. He said that the attributions of the Army were only those set forth by Article 142 of the Constitution, and denied that any sector of the Army, either in the active or in the reserve forces, were considering a return to power. Furthermore, he made his concern about public security clear and praised Michel Temer s respect for the institutions and support to the Armed Forces. Nonetheless, in March 2017, Valor Econômico magazine published an interview with the General, who claimed that we are a nation afloat, we do not know what we intend to be, what we want to be, nor what we should be. Speaking about the political crisis in Brazil, he clarified his statement about the nation afloat : This process faced by Brazil is getting to our core and to our identity. There is another component, that comes from our recent history, from the 70s and the 80s. Up until then, the nation had a strong identity, a 49 sense of project, an ideology of development. It lost that ( ) Public interest, the society are divided, and the state is subject to interests from specific sectors (Villas Bôas apud Gugliano 2017). Besides his usual comments about drug trafficking, and about Sisfron and border protection, in this interview Villas Bôas talked about two new topics worth noting: the peace process in Colombia, for which he expressed both his optimism and his concern, given the possibility of former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) joining other guerilla groups and expanding the areas of coca cultivation; and the 2018 Elections in Brazil, for which he expressed his consternation about the rise of populist candidates, drawing a parallel with Donald Trump s United States of America. In April, General Villas Bôas spoke to Veja magazine, highlighting the Army s credibility and its importance not only for caring about the nation s integrity and sovereignty, as well as its ability to boost its economy, but also because it maintains national characteristics. He clarified a moment he deemed tense in the Army s relationship with the government, when there were preliminary talks on the possibility of declaring State of Emergency in Brazil. However, he reinforced the pillars of Army action stability, legality, and legitimacy to remind that it only acts according to the Constitution. On the Army s international activities, Villas Bôas praised Brazilian participation in the UN Peace Mission to Haiti, and announced that there were already projects for Brazil to be part of other similar Missions. He showed his support to Operation Lava Jato, but said that Brazil will have to covenant with itself again after all these corruption charges. Once again, he warned of the possibility of rise of a populist leader, stating that he does not support the

4 pre-candidacy of Representative Jair Bolsonaro for President, clarifying that they have no institutional - links. He concluded the interview commenting on his own health. In May,Villas Bôas attended a meeting with Michel Temer, invited by the Minister of Defense. According to an announcement by the Army s Communication Center published in a social network, in the meetingthe current conjuncture was discussed, the strict observance of constitutional provisions by the Army was highlighted (Exército Brasileiro 2017), and the General reinforced the three pillars of Army action, reaffirming that the Armed Forces were coherent and united in their thinking. Institutional crisis and the National Question Still in May, 2017, Villas Bôas spoke at a conference at the Fernando Henrique Cardoso Foundation, expressing the Brazilian Army s consternation, shock, and concern about the reports of Michel Temer s corruption stemming from the testimony of Wesley Batista, owner of JBS, a meat processing company. Temer had called on the Armed Forces to guarantee the security of the Federal District after demonstrations against him Villas Bôas guaranteed that the Army would respect the Constitution and uphold democracy, believing in the police s ability to contain any demonstrations that turned violent. He expressed his concern about the effects of corruption on the country, but caveated that he was sure, convinced, that the country, the nation, and the institutions would have the ability to find their way, to seek a necessary regeneration for us to go back to the path of growth and evolution (Villas Bôas apud Weterman 2017). Villas Bôas and several sectors of the politicalmilitary thinking (DefesaNet 2017). Generals Alberto Cardoso, Augusto Heleno, Bolívar Goellner, and Rocha Paiva attended, together with other highlevel Army officials. Still in June, Villas Boas was interviewed by the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio. In this interview, once again he guaranteed that all Army acts were constitutional, including those taken during the May demonstrations, when it was summoned by Temer. On June 22nd, 2017, the General attended a Public Hearing at the International Relations and National Defense Committee of the Senate. His address was focused on the Army s strategic projects, but he linked them to the national and global conjunctures: One cannot think a nation s Defense without giving some consideration to the geopolitical order, he affirmed. This was the occasion in which most frankly regretted the lack of a Brazilian national project, stating: [...] we have lost our sense of national Project and we have lost our development ideology [...]. And [Brazil] is a country that has lost its way. This is a dangerous situation for a country of the magnitude of Brazil, because if we were a small country, we could attach ourselves to another country s development project, as it often happens, but Brazil cannot do that. Brazil has no alternative but to be a power. And when I speak about power, I do not mean it negatively, as in imperialism, or expansionism, no. We are a heavy country. And I believe that this crisis is deep, since we are and I am very afraid of that losing even our own identity, our self-esteem, which is withering (Villas Bôas apud Comissão de Relações Exteriores e Defesa Nacional 2017). All that had happened in the Federal District, as well as the reports against Temer, motivated a meeting, held on June 6that the Army Headquarters, between In July 2017, the General gave a brief interview to the newspaper Estadão, once again commenting the Armed Forces role in maintaining democratic 50

5 stability, and expressing his consternation about the funding cut that threatens the Army s strategic - projects which he considers to be his main concerns. As he had done in the hearing at the Senate, he clarified his previous Brazil afloat comment: I have been saying that Brazil is a country without a Project, a nation afloat, not now, but it has been for some time I want to make it clear, because I said that in another interview, and some said I was criticizing the current administration. Brazil has lost its social cohesion, has lost its sense of national project, and its development ideology. The country is still too attached to political and ideological dogmas that are not able to interpret the current world, a wholly integrated world, with its transnational economic networks (Villas Bôas apud Domingos 2017). The general concluded commenting once more the upcoming 2018 Elections, expressing his hope that a new leadership, based on new ways of thinking, arises. He mentioned the examples of Margaret Thatcher, Prime-Minister of the United Kingdom between 1979 and 1990, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America between 1981 and 1989, and Emmanuel Macron, President of France since May 14th, 2017, as examples of leaders who emerged in moments of crises, and declared his hope that the same happens in Brazil in The Armed Forces and the society General Villas Bôas public addresses not only represent his own opinion or the Army s institutional stance, but generally a smart policy by the Armed Forces. When the Military Regime ended, the Armed Forces evaluated their behavior in previous decades and reflected upon the future. They decided to go back to the barracks and stay away from politics, observing, as an institution, all constitutional norms.they maintained this stance even when the 1988 Constitution which is currently criticized by its lack of attention to the themes of sovereignty, Defense, and nation reduced their role. Afterwards, came a decade of financial cuts, the near termination of technology projects, and the reduction of their operational capacity, even though they were engaged in UN peace missions. Globalization threated sovereignty and weakened the state, the economy, and the own idea of nation. In the beginning of the 21st century, resources and technology projects regained their momentum, but there was no new strategic thinking for Defense nor for a national project (which was quite contradictory). The neoliberal era (Collor and Cardoso), and the following era, led by the Worker s Party (Lula and Dilma), have divided the society, in a framework defined by an economic crisis in Brazil and abroad. The divisions in ideology, whichhave reached the limits of absurdity and irrationality, and the events that led to President Dilma s impeachment (as well as the instability of her successor s administration) saw Armed Forces that kept their balanced and institutional stance. For some time, they had decided to establish a dialogue with society (via courses and activities) to show how important national Defense is. Instead of conceding to political factions, they sought a direct link to society, since the organized civil society was not able to redefine Defense nor to define a national project. Besides, they approached universities to develop joint research and to construct a new concept of Defense for the 21st centuryworld, as well as to resume the historical project of consolidating the Brazilian nation. In this context, General Villas Bôas words represent the tip of an institutionalized and mature iceberg. 51

6 References - Comissão de Relações Exteriores e Defesa Nacional Notas Taquigráficas 22/06/ ª. 22 de junho de Disponível em < acesso em 19/07/2017. DefesaNet Editorial DefesaNet A Reunião. DefesaNet, 6 de junho de Disponível em < com.br/gi/noticia/26023/editorial-defesanet---a-reuniao/>, acesso em 19/07/2017. Domingos, João Nada fora da Constituição. Estadão, 15 de julho de Disponível em < com.br/noticias/geral,nada-fora-da-constituicao, >, acesso em 19/07/2017. Dubeux, Ana; Alexandre, Carlos; Cavalcanti, Leonardo and Nívea Ribeiro Não cabem atalhos na Constituição, diz comandante do Exército Villas Boas. Correio Braziliense, 27 de setembro de Disponível em < correiobraziliense.com.br/app/noticia/politica/2015/09/27/internas_polbraeco,500267/nao-cabem-atalhos-naconstituicao-diz-comandante-do-exercito-villas.shtml>, acesso em 19/07/2017. Exército Brasileiro Nota de Esclarecimento. Postagem no Facebook, 19 de maio de Disponível em < acesso em 19/07/2017. Gugliano, Monica Somos um país que está à deriva. Valor Econômico, 17 de fevereiro de Disponível em < acesso em 19/07/2017. Kafruni, Simone Corte provoca defasagem. Defesa Aérea & Naval, 10 de novembro de Disponível em < acesso em 19/07/2017. Sampaio, Iavanildo General Villas Bôas Povo não quer os militares de volta. Defesa Aérea & Naval, 17 de outubro de Disponível em < acesso em 19/07/2017. Weterman, Daniel Clima no Exército é de consternação, choque e preocupação, diz Villas Bôas. Estadão, 24 de maio de Disponível em < acesso em 19/07/2017. Received on August 24, Approved on August 25,