Military Men On The Threshold Of Taking Power Again In Brazil

More than three decades after the end of military dictatorship, army men look to be on the threshold of returning to power in Brazil, this time through elections in a crime-ridden country whose official motto is "Order and Progress

Rio de Janeiro, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Oct, 2018 ) :More than three decades after the end of military dictatorship, army men look to be on the threshold of returning to power in Brazil, this time through elections in a crime-ridden country whose official motto is "Order and Progress." The comfortable favorite in an October 28 presidential run-off is Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain who has chosen a newly retired general, Hamilton Mourao, as his vice president if he wins.

At least four others with military backgrounds are tipped to enter government under a president Bolsonaro.

The 63-year-old candidate has vowed to rule "with authority, but without authoritarianism" -- though his nostalgic talk of the 1964-1985 dictatorship he served, his promises to arm "good" citizens, and his talk in favor of torture have chilled many voters.

In Brazil, a 1979 amnesty gave immunity to those responsible for the 434 murders and the torture of thousands during the dictatorship, counted by a national truth commission. A declassified CIA report revealed that the elimination of opponents was ordered at the highest levels of the government at the time.

In many democracies, evoking such brutal rule positively in a campaign would be anathema. But in Brazil today, with more than 62,000 murders annually and a constant fear of armed robberies, the law and order evoked by past military times has lent it support among younger voters.

"I've heard young people say, 'During the dictatorship things were organized,'" said political analyst Jairo Nicolau, of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

"These young people were born in a democracy and have a diffuse view of what happened."