Armed Forces intervention foreseen in Brazilian Constitution and can be used – General Heleno

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “There are currently no motives for Armed Forces intervention in Brazil, but this possibility is foreseen in the Constitution and can be used.”

The statement came yesterday (16) from General Augusto Heleno, Minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI), in a radio interview, when referring to Article 142 of the Constitution that deals with Armed Forces intervention in the country to safeguard constitutional powers.

Heleno also advocated a center politics, with no radicalism and balanced. “Brazil needs a center politics, it can be neither radical left nor radical right, it is important for this power balance,” he said, commenting on the Bolsonaro government’s alliances with the Centrão voting bloc in Congress.

“The president has every right to seek governability and the politicians he has approached help him achieve this. There is no point in him fighting with everyone. This negotiation is essential and it is not by choosing names that a sector of Congress is going to be determined.”

Regarding the 2022 elections, the General said he has no doubt that Jair Bolsonaro will accept defeat should it occur and also advocated the implementation of auditable printed ballots.

“I have not yet figured out why Justice Barroso has clung so tightly to this argument of not approving the upgrading of ballot boxes. Some say that the president has failed to provide evidence. When VAR was introduced in soccer, everyone criticized it, but today fans have realized that most championships are decided using the video referee. It is impossible for only one man on the field to see everything that goes on. And this must be the case in the electronic ballot box. People must be satisfied that whoever won the election really did win,” he argued.