Tanks in the streets of Brazil: As lawmakers vote on paper ballots, Bolsonaro holds military parade

[Eugene]

4. Bolsonaro's 'banana republic' military parade condemned by critics

Source: The Guardian

Bolsonaro’s ‘banana republic’ military parade condemned by critics

Armoured vehicles roll through streets of Brasília as congress prepares to vote on plans to change Brazil’s voting system

Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Tue 10 Aug 2021 16.35 BST

Critics have denounced Jair Bolsonaro’s “banana republic-style” decision to send combat vehicles on to the streets of Brazil’s capital for a rare military parade in what was widely seen as a beleaguered president’s ham-fisted attempt to project strength.

Bolsonaro, whose ratings have plunged as a result of his chaotic response to the Covid pandemic, looked on from the marble ramp outside the presidential palace as a motorcade of armoured vehicles trundled past on Tuesday morning.

“Ridiculous. Grotesque. Pitiful. Needless. Banana Republic stuff,” tweeted the Brasília-based journalist Brunno Melo as the procession advanced under a perfect blue sky.

The hastily arranged parade – which experts said had no precedent in the years since the restoration of democracy in 1985 – was reportedly ordered by Bolsonaro last Friday and came on the same day members of congress were scheduled to vote on highly controversial Bolsonaro-backed plans to change Brazil’s voting system.

It also followed a succession of incendiary and anti-democratic remarks from Brazil’s leader, an authoritarian-minded former army captain who has said next year’s presidential elections may not happen if the changes are not approved.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/10/bolsonaro-banana-republic-military-parade-condemned-by-critics-brazil