The Armed Forces in the sights of public opinion – 01/22/2023 – Camila Rocha

The Armed Forces used to be perceived by most Brazilians as a trustworthy institution. Today, the institution conveys insecurity, irresponsibility and lack of patriotism.

In 2018, a Latinobarometer survey indicated that 58% of the population trusted the military. Such an index was second only to the trust placed in the Catholic Church, and was a source of pride in the barracks.

However, what explained the satisfaction with the institution was not its performance in the defense of the country, but its performance in the area of ​​social assistance. Subsidiary activities related to the distribution of basic food baskets, vaccination in areas of difficult access, soliciting neighbors from barracks, among others, were seen as a demonstration of a legitimate concern to help the most vulnerable populations in the country.

Jair Bolsonaro sought to exploit this good image in his favor during his government. But instead of improving the approval of the Armed Forces, the effect was the opposite. The assessment of the military’s performance worsened as support for the Bolsonaro government declined.

The performance of General Eduardo Pazuello is exemplary in this sense. His tenure at the Ministry of Health was disastrous, and his participation in a political act alongside Jair Bolsonaro in May 2021 was excused by the Army when he should have been punished.

Shortly after the wrong decision by the Army High Command, the federal deputy and former president of the Chamber of Deputies, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), stated that the debate on the PEC that prohibits active-duty military personnel from occupying civilian positions in public administration should be accelerated.

The public image of the institution deteriorated even further with the explicit support of several military personnel for the campaign promoted by Bolsonaro against electronic voting machines and with the condescension in the face of acts that had been publicly demanding military intervention. After the end of the elections, the majority of the population was appalled by the explicit connivance of the military with hundreds of coup plotters camped in the vicinity of barracks.

At the time, 75% of Brazilians were against the encampments and roadblocks and defended the punishment of people involved in anti-democratic acts, as indicated by a Datafolha survey published in December 2022. However, this had little effect on the military’s decision to give shelter to persons with openly criminal conduct. After all, despite presenting themselves as “peaceful”, the protests aimed at the abolition of the rule of law, something intolerable under the democratic order and liable to be punished with imprisonment.

However, if 21% of Brazilians still looked favorably on anti-democratic acts, the scenario changed after January 8th. A significant portion of Bolsonaro’s electorate began to vehemently condemn the conduct of the military directly or indirectly involved in what happened and to demand that they be held accountable for loss of office and arrests.

In his view, Lula was publicly strengthened by acting as a statesman in favor of democracy together with all governors and other Powers. The image of the Armed Forces, on the other hand, is weakened and discredited under the glass shattered by the coup d’état. The change of command of the Army was the first step to transform this scenario.