Following the tragedy in Suzano, Eduardo Bolsonaro uses the crisis in Venezuela to defend weapons.
With the pro-gun rhetoric losing momentum due to the tragedy at the school in Suzano, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro (PSL-SP) seeks to keep his thesis alive based on the political crisis in Venezuela; he says that Venezuelans could overthrow Maduro if it weren't for the disarmament campaign carried out in the country in 2012;
247 - Seeking to justify the arming of the population, after the tragedy at a school in Suzano weakened his argument, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro (PSL-SP) is using the political crisis in Venezuela to claim that the decision to disarm the population is the cause of the country's problems.
Making a maneuver in his speech, the deputy stated this Thursday (14), after being chosen to preside over the Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee of the Chamber, that the population of Venezuela has been unprotected since there was a campaign for disarmament in the country in 2012, and that Venezuelans would have more chances to defend themselves against Nicolás Maduro if people could have weapons.
"I would have preferred that there had been no disarmament because then the people would have had a chance to survive. Today they are being massacred. Every time there is a demonstration, someone from some group goes by, fires some shots, intimidates people from going out into the streets, they stay home more and there is less force shown against Maduro. It's a terrorist strategy," he said.
Reality contradicts Eduardo and those who defend gun ownership. Research conducted by the University of Washington in the United States, published last year, shows that in recent years, gun deaths worldwide have increased, and more than half of the cases (51%) are concentrated in six countries: Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and Guatemala.
It is estimated that 251 people died from firearms in 156 surveyed countries during 2016, compared to 209 deaths in 1990. Brazil leads the 2016 ranking with 42 deaths, followed by the United States with over 37. Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela each account for between 10 and 20 deaths, and Guatemala has just over 5.
Eduardo participated in the demonstrations calling for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in 2016, and his brother, Carlos Bolsonaro, a city councilman in Rio de Janeiro, was caught on camera with a gun on his hip while giving a speech at one of the events. But unlike him, the vast majority of those who participated in the demonstrations were unarmed.
He elaborates on his argument and links democracy to armament. "Every democratic country is not concerned with its people being armed. The concern should be with armed criminals, and disarmament has not helped in any way," he declared.