Some shocking news is developing, reminiscent of the Cold War and, even earlier, the popularity of militarism and fascism. Senior government officials in Brazil have announced that ex-President Jair Bolsonaro plotted with military leaders to take control in a military coup.
Brazil’s Supreme Court along with senior police officials have released documents that detail plans for military intervention. Homes of far-right military officers have been raided, and at least three individuals have been arrested.
Bolsonaro has been ordered to surrender his passport, and has complied, while denying any plot.
The alleged scheme was developed between 2019 and 2022, during Bolsonaro’s far-right administration. A principal focus was trying to influence voting. The 2022 election, in fact, was won by leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – known as “Lula.”
Great credit for economic growth accrued to Lula da Silva during his earlier time as president, from 2003 to 2011. After leading the Socialist Workers’ Party to victory, he proved remarkably adept at courting capital investment, building on the market reforms of his two immediate predecessors.
But during his tenure as chief executive and afterwards, he and his successor President Dilma Rousseff were involved in scandal and prosecution regarding alleged corruption.
At the end of July 2016, Lula da Silva was formally charged with corruption by a federal judge, accused of obstruction of justice regarding the national oil company, Petrobras. Charges against Lula and others alleged diversion of billions of dollars for political and personal uses.
In 2017, he was convicted of money laundering and corruption, and sentenced to a harsh prison term. Then, in a turnaround, the Supreme Court ordered him released, and eventually nullified all charges, citing judicial irregularities. This permitted him to run for president.
The legal challenges unfolded during a severe economic recession. This followed the impressive growth during Lula’s presidency, a notably non-socialist, non-ideological regime.
Politically motivated media harassment is a related problem. In 2012, the Brazilian National Newspaper Association announced member papers were advised to ban Google from using their content. The head of Google in Brazil, Fabio Jose Silva Coelho, was arrested. There was a similar event in the southern state of Santa Catarina.
Several years after this, Facebook experienced judicial pressure. Diego Dzodan, vice president for Latin America, was imprisoned for 24 hours.
Companies have succeeded in mitigating and deflecting some of this sort of punitive harassment, but problems continue. In early 2023, mobs of Bolsonaro supporters angry at losing the election targeted and attacked journalists.
From 1964 to 1985, Brazil was under military rule. Laws dating from that era facilitate more recent government interference, fitful but persistent, with the media.
Military rule took place during the Cold War. Armed forces leaders, alarmed by policies perceived as radical, ended representative government. Officers overthrew the democratically elected administration of President João Goulart, whose radicalism fed fears of a Communist takeover of Brazil.
The U.S. administration of President Lyndon Johnson encouraged this coup. As is generally known, there is a long history of such interference in the domestic affairs of Latin American nations. The end of the Cold War has made such behavior less defensible, or advisable.
Current developments should be viewed in this context. Whatever the outcomes of the previous corruption scandals, or current military takeover allegations, orderly due process and the rule of law so far are being respected.
This represents great progress from the state of affairs even relatively recently in Brazil.
Arthur I. Cyr is the author of “After the Cold War – American Foreign Policy, Europe and Asia” (NYU Press and Palgrave/Macmillan).
Contact acyr@carthage.edu