By Anthony Boadle

BRASILIA, Reuters – Brazil’s armed force would accept a win by former President LuizInacio Lula De Silva in the presidential election, two retired generals said to Reuters. This is in addition to signs that military brass have been distancing from President Jair Bolsonaro’s political agenda.

Bolsonaro was a former captain in the army and brought unprecedented numbers military officers to his government. He also held key positions in the cabinet. His doubts about Brazil’s election system have also been raised, leading to fears that Bolsonaro might refuse defeat in October, like his American counterpart Donald Trump.

This has led to speculation about how the Armed Forces would respond, considering strong support from rank and file for Bolsonaro’s 2018 election as well as a history of distrust towards Lula and his Workers Party.

Brazil’s horrific 21-year-old military dictatorship ended in 1985. The country then established rules to seperate the armed forces with politics.

Brazil will be governed by the winner of the election. Retired General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz said that there is only one option: to respect the will and wishes of the people. He was a Bolsonaro minister for five months, but was dismissed after he had a dispute with the president.

Santos Cruz declared last week that “I cannot envision the armed forces being any other way.”

According to political analysts, a former defense secretary said that Bolsonaro has blurred the boundaries between his government’s authority and those of the military. His rejection rates are rising due to a weak economy, poor management of the coronavirus pandemic by the president who is a vaccine-skeptic and early polls suggest that Lula will win easily.

Bolsonaro’s opposition to COVID-19 mandated vaccines is what has made Bolsonaro a divider between himself and his “my army”, personalizing the public institution.

Army leaders require troops to get vaccinated. Retired Admiral Antonio Barra Torres (head of Anvisa’s health regulator Anvisa) wrote an open letter to President Obama urging him not to criticize his staff members for authorizing vaccinations against coronavirus in children.

Celso Amorim, former defense minister, stated that Bolsonaro’s recent statements regarding vaccines showed that he was not able to infuse the Armed Forces with his extreme rightwing ideology.

Amorim was Lula’s Foreign Minister from 2003-2010 and still advises his candidacy.

Lula, as president, resisted calls from the left to bring charges against military leaders who were involved in the crimes committed by a 1964-1985 military dictatorship. Amorim said that Lula also managed ambitious spending for fighter jets, submarines, and tanks.

Bolsonaro attempted to co-opt military personnel, but failed,” he stated.

‘GROSS ERRORS’

Bolsonaro’s former spokesman, General Otavio Rego Barros, stated last week in column that the military is not to blame for the Bolsonaro administration’s “gross error”.

Rego Barros stated that “the Armed Forces have reaffirmed themselves as a state institution away from party politics.”

Brazilian Air Force Commander Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior stated Monday to the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper, that there was no party in his military and that he would be “saluted” by whoever is elected their next commander in chief.

Retired officer General Paulo Chagas told Reuters that Bolsonaro was not living up to his anti-corruption campaign platform.

Chagas stated that to avoid being impeached, he had to allies himself with the politicians he used call thieves. He stated that, despite Lula’s doubts by the military, the armed forces would recognise a fair election win as such.

Bolsonaro thought that they would be able to keep them under their supervision if they joined his government. But, Creomar de Souza from Dharma’s political risk consultancy, the reverse happened. “He forced them to bend. He said that those who didn’t agree with him left or were fired.

Andre Cesar was a political strategist for Hold Legislative Advisors. Cesar agreed with many military officers who have expressed disapproval at Bolsonaro’s political leadership.

“I can see the army trying to find an honorable solution for this mess they created with the Bolsonaro government,” said he.