"What are the Armed Forces for?", asks journalist Mario Vitor Santos.
In a heartfelt statement on Boa Noite 247, journalist Mário Vítor Santos asserts that after the 2016 coup and the scenes of explicit submission to the United States, Brazil will have to discuss even the extinction of the Armed Forces in order to rebuild its democracy.
247 - In an interview with TV 247, journalist Mario Vitor Santos discussed the participation of the military in the Bolsonaro government and questioned: "What are the Armed Forces for?". In a heartfelt outburst, Mario Vitor Santos also stated that after the 2016 coup and the scenes of explicit submission to the United States, Brazil will have to discuss even the extinction of the Armed Forces in order to rebuild its democracy.
The journalist stated that it is necessary to abandon the idea that the Armed Forces are depoliticized and said it is necessary to engage in political debate within the barracks as well. "They always engage in politics, they always have, we can no longer cling to illusions and idealizations regarding the role of the military. The military is political, especially in Brazil, in all countries, but in Brazil they are a political force of political factions, a political party and a politicized, armed union. We have to acknowledge this and start engaging in political debate with them from within. They will not cease to be politicized, they will always be politicized," he said.
Mario Vitor Santos also said that it is necessary to build more means of controlling the Armed Forces through politics so that the military does not become, once again, a factor in coups d'état and does not turn even further against Brazilian interests. "It is no coincidence that in China, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, and other countries there were and are delegates of political parties within the Armed Forces to control the politicization of the Armed Forces, because otherwise they are, in any country in the world, a factor in coups, a threat to democracies; that's where coups are nested. Instead of idyllically defending the Armed Forces, it is necessary to abandon illusions, to politicize the Armed Forces even more because they are already politicized, and to create forms of political control through politics within the Armed Forces, with supervision, with indoctrination. That is a political nest; what they are not are defenders of the nation, of national interests, of our economic sovereignty. They are factors of sabotage of our much-needed independence, autonomy, and economic sovereignty."
Subscribe to TV 247 and watch the full interview: