If you don’t mind my asking, what does article 142 do? I found a few things which seemed to indicate people wanted to interpret it to allow for military coup/putsch, but I have no idea if that interpretation is based in reality.
It was a freestyle interpretation based on the opinion of a conservative Brazilian jurist. The language used in this article of the constitution is a little vague, allowing some people to believe that the armed forces, especially the army, are the fourth branch of the republic’s powers, akind of power that towers above the others. Article 142 supposedly empowers the military to act as moderators of democracy, something that only Emperor Dom Pedro I and his son Dom Pedro II exercised in the 19th century. Of course, this interpretation is only valid in the minds of people who believe that the earth is flat.
The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the national congress, was “obliged” to declare that this article did not allow the military to intervene in politics. But it is our own Q conspiracy. A lot of people believe it.
ETA
Art. 142. The Armed Forces, comprised of the Navy, the Army and the Air Force,
are permanent and regular national institutions, organized on the basis of hierarchy
and discipline, under the supreme authority of the President of the Republic, and
are intended for the defense of the Country, for the guarantee of the constitutional
powers, and, on the initiative of any of these, of law and order. (CA No. 18, 1998;
CA No. 41, 2003)
ETA the Brazilian Constitution in English:
According to Bolsonaristas, article 142 can be invoked by the president when he feels that the nation is in danger. For them Mr. Lula da Silva is a convicted felon and could never run in an election and that the only way for Mr. Bolsonaro being defeated would be through a dirty ploy to steal victory from his hands.
There is no greater danger than a communist in the presidency of Brazil, so the military could/must intervene. Even this freestyle interpretation has its factions. Some believe that the Army could do something if only the president call for help, while more radical groups preach that the military can do whatever they want and seize power as soon as they smell communism or any other threat.
Thank you, especially for the PDF from the Organization of American States.
But… Sources heard by journalists say that Mr. Bolsonaro is afraid of being arrested as soon as he steps on Brazilian soil, as an investigation is underway and the result of which could leave him ineligible for more than 8 years.
The Lula administration fears, with good reason, that the opposition would use the committee to muddy the waters of responsibility. The far-right wants to gear the investigation toward firehosing public discourse with falsehoods about the attack, seeking to convince supporters that the riots were sparked by leftist “agent provocateurs.”
There are still risks for the government. A request for a joint select committee — with members of both the House and Senate — has cleared the thresholds in each chamber. The government is trying to stifle such efforts, allegedly using pork barrel funds to sway lawmakers to withdraw their support for the committee’s creation.
Bad news. They are already doing it.
Bolsonaro says he will return to Brazil on March 30, the eve of the 59th anniversary of the last military coup. For security reasons, he will have to arrive discreetly and leave through the back door of the airport, with no reception committee or fan clubs.
Sources heard by Jornal O Globo comment that the former president was very angry and blamed Lula and the Workers’ Party for treatment, according to allies of Mr. Bolsonaro, that only prisoners and criminals deserve…
