The uncertain role of the Armed Forces in the Bolsonaro government

During his participation in yet another quasi-putschist demonstration this past Sunday, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro made sure to increase speculation about the role of the military within his administration. “The people are with us, the Armed Forces — alongside law, order, democracy, and liberty — are with us as well,” he said. Mr. Bolsonaro went on to say that the government was “on the edge” and that there was no longer any room for negotiations. “From now on, we will enforce the Constitution […] at any cost,” he said, to his assembled supporters.

This was a not-so-veiled attack on the Supreme Court, which has gotten in Mr. Bolsonaro’s way on a number of occasions over the past month. Most notably, Justice Alexandre de Moraes blocked the president’s appointment for Federal Police Chief, as the intended pick, Alexandre Ramagem, is a close friend of Mr. Bolsonaro’s son. The president then decided to appoint an ally of Mr. Ramagem’s to the post.

The tension between the Supreme Court and the government was taken up a notch on Wednesday when Justice Celso de Mello authorized the subpoena of three army generals who are members of Mr. Bolsonaro’s cabinet. In an excerpt from his decision, Justice Mello says that if the three generals refuse to appear on the agreed date and time, they should be compelled to testify. The military was reportedly unappreciative of the Supreme Court justice’s tone. According to CNN Brasil, members of the Army saw the decision as an offense, creating “animosity” towards the Supreme Court.

These disagreements and back-and-forth statements raise the question of...