Navy commander: ‘Forces are not moderating power’ – 05/05/2023 – Power

The commander of the Navy, Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen, claimed that the use made by Bolsonarists of article 142 of the Federal Constitution, which governs the activity of the Forces in the country, to claim that they could have a moderating role was wrong.

In an interview with the newspaper O Globo, Olsen stated that it is up to the STF (Federal Supreme Court) to interpret the Constitution.

The PT bench in the Chamber of Deputies articulates a PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) to remove from article 142 the reference to the guarantee of law and order.

The Defense Ministry also forwarded a draft PEC to the Planalto to prohibit military personnel from remaining in active duty if they try to run for elections or assume a position in the Executive.

At the end of last year, for example, Bolsonaristas who did not accept the president’s electoral defeat to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) quoted this article again to demand a coup d’état by the Armed Forces.

In 2020, Minister Luiz Fux, of the STF, defined in a judicial decision the interpretation of the Constitution and the law that disciplines the Armed Forces to clarify that they do not allow the Army to intervene in the Legislative, Judiciary or Executive, nor do they give the military the attribution of moderating power.

In response to a lawsuit filed by the PDT against “possible military intervention”, the magistrate issued an injunction (provisional) to establish that the prerogative of the President of the Republic to authorize the use of the Armed Forces cannot be exercised against the other two Powers.

“The leadership of the Armed Forces is a limited power, excluding any interpretation that allows its use for undue interference in the independent functioning of the other Powers, relating the authority over the Armed Forces to the material competences attributed by the Constitution to the President of the Republic”, said the minister, who will assume the presidency of the STF in September this year.

In the same interview with the newspaper O Globo, the commander of the Navy defended the trip to the reserve of military personnel who assume public positions. He criticized the politicization of the Armed Forces during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

“I think it is wrong to remain in the exercise of these public positions as an active duty officer. If a military member migrates to exercise a public position, he must request a transfer to the reserve. Otherwise, he does not assume it. This condition could even be automatic: if he accepts the position, passes to the reserve”, he declared.

Olsen stated that an internal survey identified military personnel affiliated with political parties, which characterizes a disciplinary misdemeanor subject to administrative proceedings.

In March, the Navy issued a statement giving 90 days for subtitles to disaffiliate under risk of punishment. The same orientation was followed by the Army and Air Force commands.