'Brazilian Military Does Not Believe in the Federal Supreme Court, but Listens to the American Military', Says Political Scientist

João Roberto Martins Filho is a political scientist who participated, alongside Christian Lynch, in the series Questions about Brazil

Belo Horizonte

"What happened on January 8 was the result of almost ten years of deliberate infiltration of an authoritarian political culture in Brazil," says Christian Lynch, political scientist and researcher at the Institute of Social and Political Studies at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (IESP-UERJ) He refers to the date on which Bolsonarists invaded the National Congress, the Presidential Palace and the Federal Supreme Court (STF).

Considerations like this set the tone for the ninth debate in the cycle Questions about Brazil, a series of dialogues promoted by the Research and Training Center (CPF) of Sesc São Paulo, by the Associação Portugal Brasil 200 anos (APBRA) and by Folha. The event was held on the afternoon of Wednesday (18th) based on the question "How can we move the country away from its authoritarian roots?".

BRASILIA, DF, BRASIL 08-01-2023 "What happened on January 8 was the result of almost ten years of deliberate infiltration of an authoritarian political culture in Brazil" (FOTO Gabriela Biló /Folhapress) - Folhapress

Together with Lynch, João Roberto Martins Filho, professor of the social sciences department at UFSCar (Federal University of São Carlos) and author of books such as "The Palace and the Barracks: The Military Dynamics of Political Crisis in the Dictatorship" (1995) participated in the debate. Bolsonarists "went into indignation mode from the moment it became clear that the Army was not going to do what they were expecting it to do since they were demanding an intervention", says Martins Filho.

According to Martins Filho, there were several factors that put a stop to the attempted coup. One of the main factors was the lack of support from the international community, especially from the United States. "The Brazilian military does not believe in the Federal Supreme Court, in democracy, and in politicians, but listens to what the American military says", he emphasizes. US President Joe Biden was one of the leaders who provided support to President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and Brazilian democracy after the attacks.

Translated by Cassy Dias

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