Vice-president rules out institutional rupture in Brazil despite strong rhetoric

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s vice president, Army reserve general Hamilton Mourão, ruled out Monday the possibility of an institutional rupture or a coup d’état in Latin America’s largest country despite the “strong rhetoric” of the president, conservative leader Jair Bolsonaro.

“There is no room for a rupture in the 21st century. We cannot look at what happened in the 20th century and transfer it to today. Is there strong rhetoric from our government? There is. But there are no actions that correspond to that rhetoric,” said Mourão in an interview he gave to Radio Gaúcha and when questioned about whether Bolsonaro would be pushing for a coup in Brazil.

The conservative president led the massive September 7 protests in which his impressively large number of supporters, underestimated by virtually all commentators, loudly demanded the dissolution of the Supreme Court and Congress.

A day later, groups of Bolsonarist truckers blocked highways in several states of the country and demanded the dismissal of the Supreme Court Justices.

“There is no room for a break. That must be very clear. There are no actions that correspond to this rhetoric. I consider this to be strong rhetoric from our government rather than actions that could lead to a rupture,” stressed Mourão, always at pains to mediate between the direct and blunt nature of the president and the sensitive psyches of the country’s Justices.

“Our institutions are strong, Brazilian democracy is strong, and that is not going to change because of some speeches made by one side or the other,” added the vice president.

The institutional crisis in Brazil was somewhat defused Thursday when Bolsonaro released a “letter to the nation” in which he asserted that he would “never” “attack” the Supreme Court or Congress.

The President acknowledged that “the country is divided among the institutions” but alleged that “harmony (among the powers) is a constitutional will that all, without exception, must respect”.