By ARACY PS BALBANI*
The growth of military tensions and the association of Nazi-fascism with organized crime around the world makes it crucial for Brazil to consolidate democracy and defend national sovereignty.
Shortly after the image of the Armed Forces was tarnished by the institutional video about alleged privileges enjoyed by civilians in relation to civil servants in the Navy, a new controversy arose.
The language of the end-of-year message from the Commander of the Navy, Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen, released in a video a few days ago, leaves ample room for observations.
Several expressions stand out in the speech of the Minister of the Navy. We highlight: “with the purpose of praising the achievements carried out”; “In the course, based on principles”; “non-delegable constitutional precepts”; “surpassed”; “mitigating losses”; “allocating investments that strengthen”; “realizing achievements of inestimable magnitude”; “operations in the Brazilian strategic environment”; “the incorporation of state-of-the-art naval resources”; “Brazilian jurisdictional waters”; “fighting transnational crimes”; “under the aegis of supporting the actions of the State, it stood out for its diligent action, with special emphasis on the population affected by severe weather conditions”; “the Navy achieved international recognition”; “Naval Power consolidates itself as an irrefutable instrument of projecting power and safeguarding the interests of the State”; “The year 2024 categorically reiterated the imperative need for a credible Navy, equipped with indigenous technologies”.
Between the two moments of the Minister's speech, the video narrator mentions “The launch of weapons validates the lethality and effectiveness of systems in credible scenarios” and “focus on interoperability”.
The message may have been addressed to the officers or technical staff of the Brazilian Navy. However, since the civilian population as a whole finances the Armed Forces for National Defense, that is, for the defense of all Brazilian families, it is only fair to adapt the form and content of the video to an account that can be understood by the majority of the people.
The reality of Brazilian society is still very different from that of the Asian Tiger countries. Singapore, for example, adopted parliamentary democracy after independence in 1965. Since then, it has prioritized formal education for its population and has prospered in its economy and social development.
The same is true in South Korea, which has established quality education, technological development and industrial development as pillars of government. There, there was popular mobilization against the recent coup attempt.
It is worth remembering that Korean immigration to Brazil completed 61 years in 2024. More than 100 companies from that country do business here, and at least three large Korean industries, from the automotive and technology sectors, have factories installed in our country.
China, which celebrated the tradition of the Year of the Dragon in 2024, needs no introduction or comparison with us, whether in the impact of public education in reducing illiteracy and accelerating development, in its importance in the current global economic scenario or in its military power.
On the other hand, the Brazilian School Census, released earlier this year, showed that high school had the highest dropout and grade repetition rates in the country: 5,9% and 3,9% respectively. This motivated the Federal Government to implement the Pé-de-Meia Program, trying to attract young people to school and reverse the situation.
Exactly one month ago, the national press published public profiles of teenagers who make a living as digital influencers. They offered courses on social media, promising prosperity without the need for education. One of them said: “What college are you thinking of going to in the future? College? I already earn more than five doctors a month.”
What a contrast with the privilege of students at the Rio de Janeiro Naval College, mentioned in the institutional video as one of the best in Brazilian education.
On the other hand, Bill No. 6256, of 2019, by Federal Deputy Érika Kokay (PT-DF), which “institutes the National Plain Language Policy in the bodies and entities of the direct and indirect public administration of all federative entities”, is currently awaiting amendments in the Federal Senate.
If the proposal is approved by the National Congress, “simple, clear and easy-to-understand language should be used by government bodies and entities to avoid “communication full of formalities and difficult to understand.”
According to the Senate Agency, “the project lists some simple language techniques, such as the use of direct order in sentences, the use of short sentences, the presentation of a single idea per paragraph, the use of common and easy-to-understand words and the organization of the text in a schematic way”.
This initiative is in line with the global trend of facilitating communication. Enough bureaucratic jargon. Especially in a country like Brazil, with a literacy rate below the desirable level and a high rate of functional illiteracy.
With all this in mind, have our citizens who abandoned their studies in their adolescence to help support their families deciphered the meaning of words such as “perpetrated”, “non-delegable”, “aegis”, “credible”, “irrefutable”, “imperceptible” and “autochthonous”, among others, present in the ministerial speech?
How did young digital influencers who prefer the internet to school, whether public or private, understand this message from the Navy? Their usual vocabulary does not go beyond “msg”, “obg”, “ctz”, “fecho”, “tks” or “fds”. Did the “bros” and “sisters” excluded from society, who ended up being co-opted by drug trafficking, understand the video? “Belê” for them?
What interpretation of the institutional video can be expected from educated people with college degrees who buy firearms? Or those who insist on burning their own money by setting off fireworks with loud bangs, even in municipalities that extensively publicize that the use of such devices is prohibited by law? A college diploma is no guarantee of intelligence. Nor of discernment. Much less of ethics. Do these people not understand what they read or do they disregard democracy, the Constitution and ordinary laws?
Not only these people, regardless of whether they are civilians or military, active or inactive, their level of intelligence or education, their ideology, their ethics, were left puzzled when they learned about Admiral Olsen's message and the rest of the video.
What is the practical meaning of “the need for a credible Navy”, “incorporation of state-of-the-art naval resources” and “The launch of weapons validates the lethality and effectiveness of systems in credible scenarios”? It is necessary to clarify in simple and direct language.
When I heard the narrator of the Navy video say about “validating lethality,” I remembered the commotion a medical professor caused in the class when he said, in a lecture, that the patient, “despite treatment, evolved to a lethal outcome.” Talking about successful death tends to be uncomfortable. Even for those “in the field.” Even if metaphors are used.
If there was a lot of formality, technical jargon and roundabout ways, at least there were no mesoclisis in the Navy's most recent video. This is already an omen. Or rather, it is a good sign. There is a thin thread of hope.
The growth of military tensions and the association of Nazi-fascism with organized crime around the world, including the financing of attempted coups d'état, makes it crucial for Brazil to consolidate democracy and defend national sovereignty.
Promoting military reform and developing national science and technology in the sectors of defense, health intelligence, telecommunications and nuclear technology, including the Brazilian multipurpose reactor, are urgent actions.
The Navy's participation is essential not only in these processes, but also to expand the excellence of public education and health to the entire Brazilian population; to work on the rescue and saving of living beings in floods and accidents with vessels, and to raise awareness among Brazilians about caring for the sea, our rivers and lakes.
The work of our Navy in defending the peace of all Brazilian families deserves clear and simple communication. And the more empathy for the people, the better.
*Aracy PS Balbani is a doctor.
Reference
Senate Agency. Proposal for simple language in official communications advances in the Senate. Available here.
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