By MANUEL DOMINGOS NETO*
Since the last dictatorship, political representation has been intimidated by the military
In 1979, it accepted an amnesty that preserved practitioners of state terrorism that attacked humanity. In the 1988 Constituent Assembly, through Article 142, it recognized the superpowers of armed corporations. The Ministry of Defense, an essentially political body, was handed over to the military. Defense business was simply assimilated as military affairs. With a tweet, a general conditioned the last presidential elections. With the country in a deep multidimensional crisis, the political representation admitted that Bolsonaro granted privileges to the “military family” out of sight.
It will not be by lowering our heads in front of gallons that Brazilians will preserve democracy. The senator who chairs the CPI did well when he said that he would not be intimidated by generals. Military personnel engaged in fraud and must answer for it. Another option would be to end the work of the CPI and let the killings run smoothly.
Tonight I will teach a class whose first topic is the religiosity of warriors. Men who prepare to slaughter their fellow men, even if moved by pure greed, cover themselves with sacred reasons. Their credibility derives from carefully constructed images. Warriors need to show themselves oblivious to small interests. The sense of honor cultivated in the ranks is closely related to the lofty causes they are sworn to uphold.
The ideal guardian is incorruptible, as Plato theorized over two thousand years ago. Christianity filled its hagiography with military figures. São Sebastião, São Jorge, São Longuinho, Santa Joana D'Arc, São Luís… Warriors always pass on the idea that they value the collective interest at the cost of their own lives. They demand divinity as a partner. Losing sacredness, the warrior crumbles.
Brazilian commanders know this and have endeavored to highlight the difference between the civilian politician, corrupt by nature, and the unblemished military man, upright by training. Ranks legitimize themselves as defenders of the sacrosanct homeland. This is how the military schools teach. Outside the barracks, the extraordinary legend according to which there was no corruption in the dictatorship was religiously disseminated. People have always been prone to believe in the extraordinary.
Behold, the image of high moral standard of the Brazilian armed institutions comes into flames from the work of the CPI. Could it be different? Corporations would not go unscathed by being part of the Bolsonaro government. The military always knew about the President's record.
If parliamentarians lower their heads, we will fall into a snooker pool. By the way, the senators did everything to spare the military, postponing what was written. They took their time to collect the testimony of the officers and sang the praises of the corporations.
So protected, they dared more and more. The President of the Superior Military Court felt authorized to delimit the opposition's space and did not miss the opportunity. He said the left was pulling the rope too tight. He was not admonished. Predictable, therefore, that the men of many stars would continue the game of “successive approximations”, signing a note against the president of the CPI.
The preservation of democracy involves the containment of such manifestations. Senator Omar acted thoughtfully. He condemned the “rotten band”, not the corporations as a whole. How can we deny the fact that the military was involved in the most disgusting corruption scandal in Brazilian history?
Military sanctity is on fire. Without a firm posture of democratic conscience, the flames can take over the country, as the President wants.
* Manuel Domingos Neto is a retired UFC/UFF professor, former president of the Brazilian Defense Studies Association (ABED) and former vice president of CNPq.
