Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said he would have no qualms about deploying the military into the streets and that they would follow his orders in the event of unrest.
The former army captain said during a television interview that he would not “go into details into what I’m preparing,”
“If we were to have problems, we have a plan of how to enter the field,” he added. “Our armed forces could one day go into the streets.”
“If we were to have problems, we have a plan of how to enter the field,” he added. “Our armed forces could one day go into the streets,” Jair Bolsonaro said. REUTERSThe comment drew eyebrows from critics who say the military has become increasingly politicized under Bolsonaro. The right-wing president faces mounting criticism over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and what will likely be a tough reelection fight next year.
Bolsonaro has frequently praised the country’s military dictatorship, which ruled the country from 1964 to 1985.
A demonstrator sits near crosses and pictures of politicians that are covered in red ink, to represent blood, during a protest against Jair Bolsonaro and his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak on April 23, 2021. REUTERS