By MANUEL DOMINGOS NETO*
The break with Elon Musk could satisfy our self-esteem, but it would not undo Brazil's inability to show basic authority on the international scene.
The information that the Brazilian military is dependent on its communications is old. Only naivety in defense matters explains the frisson of some commentators.
The Brazilian military has been structurally dependent on hegemonic countries since the modernization of the Army and Navy, which occurred in the first decades of the last century. This dependence was aggravated after the Second World War.
When I say structurally dependent, I am thinking of operational capacity, which presupposes logistics and firepower. Locomotion and communication are prominent components of operational capacity.
More clearly: the Brazilian military has always depended on foreign powers to move by land, sea and air; it has always thought of defense based on external purchases. Despite sparse and discontinuous efforts in search of autonomy, it has never prepared itself to shoot down moderately prepared foreign aggressors.
The irritation caused by the news that the Brazilian military depended on Elon Musk's satellite network, operated through the company Space X, I insist, derives from the abstraction of reality.
Some are surprised that Brazil's main warship, a multipurpose aircraft carrier (used for combat and humanitarian operations) named “Atlântico”, uses the services of the arrogant billionaire.
This ship was manufactured by the Brazilian military's long-standing supplier, Vickers, from the United Kingdom. The British used this ship for 20 years, including to help destroy Iraq. When it fell into disuse in 2018, the Brazilian Navy acquired it for around 360 million reais.
The ship's sensors, radars, cannons and aircraft are foreign products. It is an instrument that would not operate without external support for its expensive maintenance.
How strange is it that this boat communicates with the support of Elon Musk's satellite network?
The information that the Army would depend on Elon Musk to act in the Amazon also caused an unjustified impact: the Brazilian Ground Force is planned, organized and trained as a member of the Western warrior spectrum commanded by Washington. The Army is better prepared to impose internal order than to subdue a foreign enemy.
Some commentators believe that Lula should immediately cancel contracts with Elon Musk's companies. They even say that such contracts were signed by Jair Bolsonaro, as if this ultra-reactionary were capable of making relevant decisions on his own.
The break with Elon Musk could satisfy our self-esteem, but it would not undo Brazil's inability to show basic authority on the international scene.
Elon Musk, a smart guy, knows how to provoke. He said he will continue to “support the Brazilian military.”
Maybe the discomfort caused by the Brazilian military's dependence on internet communications will help the debate on military reform...
Brazil has a sham defense. In this area, the Republic has failed. For our sovereignty, we need a Defense that reviews the role, organization and culture of the armed forces. I call this review military reform.
* Manuel Domingos Neto He is a retired UFC professor and former president of the Brazilian Association of Defense Studies (ABED). Author, among other books What to do with the military: notes for a new National Defense (Reading Cabinet). [https://amzn.to/3URM7ai]
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