Good morning! Today: Bolsonaro tries to intimidate lawmakers with the military. Uncertainties around the 5G auction. How the climate emergency will hit Brazil. And heavily-criticized electoral reform plans advance.
Tanks in the streets of Brasília
On the day the House floor is set to bury a proposal to reinstate paper ballots as a supplement to Brazil’s electronic voting system, the Brazilian Armed Forces will parade tanks, armored vehicles, and weaponry in front of the presidential palace — which also happens to be directly in view of the Supreme Court and Congress buildings.
- Officially, the Navy is merely delivering an invitation for President Jair Bolsonaro to attend Operation Formosa, a week-long military training session with live ammunition which happens every year, 60 kilometers away from Brasília.
- While it is customary for military commanders to personally invite the president, the delivery does not usually involve a military parade.
Why it matters. The president’s show of strength further escalates the ongoing war of attrition between the branches of government. The graver the crisis becomes, the more unpredictable its outcome.
- “What is going on is that there is a quite explicit threat of violence which goes well beyond a coup and could spark...