Moniz Bandeira's desperation led him to appeal for Army intervention.

The political despair gripping millions of progressive Brazilians in the face of the Brazilian situation is expressed in the dramatic appeal of political scientist Moniz Bandeira for a military intervention in defense of national interests. For more than a moment I thought the same thing. However, I stopped at the edge of the abyss. I am, indeed, in favor of military intervention, despite the trauma of '64, as the only way to defend the values ​​of the Fatherland. But first it would be necessary to assure the Nation that they will enter on our side.

My assumption is that our side is the right one. However, do the military think the same way? If they did, perhaps a figure with a Hitlerian profile like Congressman Bolsonaro wouldn't have so much prestige among them. On the other hand, the military relies fiercely on the principles of discipline and hierarchy that form the basic structure of its organization. Stepping outside this framework, as Luís Nassif would say, is risky. Their fixed point is institutionalism, more than values ​​that political struggle inevitably renders abstract.

Objectively, the military establishment benefited from highly favorable policies during the PT governments, in the form of high-quality technical projects, such as the nuclear submarine, especially when compared to the budgetary constraints they faced during Fernando Henrique's years. However, the PT governments also reopened the wounds of repression during the darkest years of the dictatorship, perhaps in an extremely clumsy way considering the current generation of officers who had no connection to the dictatorship.

The military is not immune to emotion, and it is emotion, not reason, that fundamentally governs politics. That's precisely why I prefer to see them quietly in their barracks, awaiting external challenges and even helping with internal ones, as in Rio. Of course, I don't like seeing them associated with the Americans in joint operations in the Amazon, but I understand that this doesn't affect their deepest feelings of nationality. In any case, I prefer them more in the barracks and less in politics.

However, from my point of view, it would not be entirely undesirable for General Villas Boas, with his leadership and authority, to secretly, and without mentioning the possibility of leaving the barracks, tell Temer that selling amortized hydroelectric plants to the Chinese is a dangerous path of betrayal to the Fatherland. He could explain to the president, who understands nothing of this, that the main American hydroelectric plants were built and are managed by the Army, falling into the category of national security instruments.

If the general wanted to be a little more specific, he could tell Temer that if he is so eager to get rid of the hydroelectric plants, he should transfer them to the Army graciously, for the good of the Brazilian economy. Finally, he could remind the president that a manifesto is circulating, spearheaded by Senator Roberto Requião, warning foreign investors and diplomats that if the privatization of the hydroelectric plants goes ahead, at the first opportunity a referendum will be proposed to revoke all of Temer's unilateral measures, which could bring great embarrassment and losses to the private sector, as well as to Brazil's international relations.