The Workers’ Party (PT) is seeking signatures to create the Defense Industry Parliamentary Front. The goal is to engage congressmen with measures capable of opening up financing perspectives for the sector and preventing the scrapping of Armed Forces fleets and equipment. The movement is seen as a way to maintain good relations with the Armed Forces while Federal Police (PF) operations go after high-ranking officers involved in a supposed case of attempted military coup, which would have happened after President Lula’s reelection, in October 2022.
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Timing
The initiative takes place at a time when President Lula and Defense Minister José Mucio Monteiro seek to reestablish relations after the involvement of generals and other high-ranking military personnel in the frustrated coup attempt. The issue is sensitive because, at the same time that the government tries to create mechanisms to stimulate the national weapons industry, it needs to re-equip the forces that conspired to prevent the current president from taking office.
Lack of Resources for Equipment and the Local Industry
The Armed Forces contracts portfolio currently totals US$105 billion with payment commitments extending over 17 years. Furthermore, the annual Defense Budget is around R$124 billion, around 1% of GDP. However, the majority of these resources (78%) cover personnel costs.
Another problem is financing the national weapons industry, which currently depends almost entirely on exports. find funding sources that do not depend on the Budget. Topics such as the sharing of royalties from oil and mining and the sale of disused Armed Forces properties should be on the radar.
The Operations and a Fragile Relation
A recent operation by the Federal Police (PF), Tempus Veritatis, targeted former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), and generals. The operation investigates a purported plan to maintain Bolsonaro in power. The case caused a great commotion among the forces because top officers were targeted by the Federal Police. On Thursday (22/02), they were interrogated by the PF but remained silent.
The GeneralsThe generals investigated are: Augusto Heleno (former minister of the GSI), Braga Netto (candidate for vice president of Jair Bolsonaro in 2022), and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira (former minister of Defense), as well as admiral Almir Garnier (former commander of the Navy). General Estevam Theophilo, who headed the Army’s Land Operations Command until 2023, testified on Friday in Fortaleza (CE).
Analysis:
Despite the dilemma that the government faces now, the country needs to patrol more than 500 million km² of continental waters, the so-called Blue Amazon, and borders without having the equipment and fleets to do so. In addition, in a country deeply affected by criminal organizations, the Armed Forces are frequently called to help regular public security forces and solve emergencies in hard-to-reach, and isolated areas, such as the indigenous reserves. The ongoing Yanomami humanitarian crisis is a great example of that. Helicopters, planes, military bases, and much other military equipment are being used to transport ill indigenous, to support police operations against illegal miners and loggers, and to bring supplies for the villages plagued by hunger. In Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the Armed Forces are also being used to patrol roads, airports, and ports, another intervention in the state’s public security.
Source: Folha de São Paulo.
