Brazil Gears Up For Sept 7 Rallies Amid Growing Politicization Of Military Police - Expert

Brazil Gears Up for Sept 7 Rallies Amid Growing Politicization of Military Police - Expert

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is set to convoke a manifestation of supporters on September 7, with possible backing from military police while the armed forces may be unable to control the situation if needed, Acacio Augusto, a coordinator at the Laboratory for International Security and Monitoring Technologies, told Sputnik

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2021) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is set to convoke a manifestation of supporters on September 7, with possible backing from military police while the armed forces may be unable to control the situation if needed, Acacio Augusto, a coordinator at the Laboratory for International Security and Monitoring Technologies, told Sputnik.

On August 19, Bolsonaro confirmed his intention to participate in the rallies on September 7, the country's Independence Day, and to mobilize his backers. Military policemen may be among Bolsonaro's supporters.

On Monday, the governor of Brazil's Sao Paulo state Joao Doria dismissed a senior military police commander Aleksander Lacerda, who encouraged the military police to attend the pro-Bolsonaro march on September 7. The call was deemed unconstitutional, since the agency's members are prohibited from expressing any political views.

"The entire day [September 7] will be as if people were inside of a house with gas on. Maybe there will be time to open the windows and nobody will light a match. But if somebody does, I do not know what will happen next... I think that the armed forces would say everything is under control. But if something happens, they will not have the capacity to respond. There are 700,000 police officers in Brazil," Augusto stated.

On Tuesday, 25 of the 27 state governors signed a resolution expressing concerns about growing support of the military police for Bolsonaro.

Public support for Bolsonaro has dropped over his entanglement in multiple investigations and poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, giving momentum to his potential opponent in the upcoming presidential race and current polls favorite, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazilian former president, who regained his political rights in March this year after his corruption conviction was overturned. The general election in Brazil is scheduled for October 2, 2022.