Lula tries to celebrate pacification with the military on 9/7 – 9/6/2023 – Power

President Lula (PT) arrives at his first Independence Day parade of his third term with the mission of making the date a symbol of pacification with the military and of institutional normalization.

Jair Bolsonaro (PL) captured the 7th of September in recent years by imparting a coup-like and electoral character to the celebrations. For Bolsonaristas, the date was symbolic not only for Independence, but also because September 6 is the anniversary of the stab wound suffered by the former president in Juiz de Fora in 2018.

Thus, this year the traditional parade on the Esplanada, scheduled for this Thursday morning (7th) in Brasília, should be full of meaning.

First, the expected strong presence of members of the Armed Forces High Command at the ceremony presided over by Lula. The scene, according to Planalto assistants, should symbolize the pacification of the PT’s relationship with the military after the crisis with the uniforms at the beginning of the mandate.

Second, due to the absence of Bolsonarist protesters, who dominated the 7th of September in Brasilia in the last four years.

Supporters of the former president have organized themselves on the networks, but against the grain of previous years. Now the message is to stay at home, now to go to commemorative ceremonies in black.

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) mobilized for blood donations on the eve of the holiday on his social networks.

“[É para] We show that the colors green and yellow are in our hearts and the best way for us to show our love for our homeland is by doing this [doação de sangue]. And those who want to stay at home on September 7th will already have a feeling of mission accomplished,” he said.

The initiative is a way of trying to keep militancy united on an important date for Bolsonarism, but at the same time emptying the parade organized by Lula. The senator must attend an evangelical service in Brasília alongside his colleague Magno Malta (PL-ES). There is the possibility that Bolsonaro himself will be present.

Flávio also said that the current government “has always thrown the flag in the trash”, while the former president “rescued that flag, praising patriotism in our population”.

Bolsonaro, in turn, told his supporters on social media to enjoy the holiday with their family, “wherever they are” — which was interpreted as a veiled message not to go to the parades.

The colors green and yellow have been covering the posts on the Esplanade and the advertising posters for the parade for days now, which will take place a few meters from the headquarters of the three Powers — vandalized by Bolsonaro supporters on January 8.

In addition to greater attention to security to avoid any threat of attacks like those at the beginning of the year, the Lula government is now seeking to bring an air of normality to the national holiday.

Regarding the military, the parade will also be a way to praise the Armed Forces and the concept of sovereignty.

On the lawn of the Esplanada, there is an exhibition of military equipment, such as ships, tanks and aircraft. It will open shortly after the parade and will run until September 10th.

How did you anticipate the Sheet, the slogan chosen by the Lula 3 government for the holiday is “democracy, sovereignty and union”. The idea is to recover the patriotic symbols and try to disassociate them from the former president. Even during the electoral campaign, the PT was already trying to mischaracterize the national flag as a “Bolsonarist” representation.

On Tuesday (5), Lula said that the military had taken over Independence Day festivities in Brazil throughout history, in particular after the two decades of military dictatorship in the country (1964-1985).

“Every country in the world has a big party at the Independence party. What happened in Brazil is that, as we had an authoritarian regime for 23 years, the truth is that the military took over the 7th of September. thing of society as a whole,” said the president.

“What we want to do now, with the participation of the Army, Navy and Air Force, is to make a 7th of September for everyone again. The 7th of September belongs to the military, the teacher, the doctor, the dentist, the lawyer, the hot dog vendor, the small and medium individual entrepreneur”, he added.

The president’s statement was given during the recording of Conversa with the President, his weekly webcast.

Palace assistants also say that the idea of ​​the parade on September 7 will be to show the respect of the High Command of the Forces to the civil power of the government. Four-star officers are expected to attend the ceremony in droves with their families.

According to Lula’s allies, the image should transmit a message of legalism from the troops, after successive crises of confidence in the Lula government 3 with the barracks.

This year’s parade will have around 2,000 military personnel and students from the Federal District on the Esplanade. The audience is expected to reach 30,000 people. Secom (Special Secretariat for Social Communication), led by Minister Paulo Pimenta (PT), organized the entire parade and centralized the concepts.

The parade was divided into four thematic moments: “Peace and Sovereignty”, with members of the Armed Forces who participated in United Nations peacekeeping missions and members of the FEB (Brazilian Expeditionary Force); “Science and Technology”, which will have students from ITA (Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica) and IME (Military Institute of Engineering); “Saúde e Vacinação”, with the character Zé Gotinha and members of the health services of the three Forces; and “Defense of the Amazon”, with soldiers of indigenous origin.