How Brazil’s Military Police became a key supporter of Jair Bolsonaro

This past Sunday, in one of his now weekly public appearances, President Jair Bolsonaro rode out to meet his supporters in Brasilia on horseback, borrowing a trusty steed from the military police department of the Federal District. Around the same time, military police counterparts in São Paulo were launching tear gas canisters and flash bombs at a group of anti-fascist demonstrators on Avenida Paulista, in the city center.

Since March, with the implementation of Covid-19 isolation measures across the country, the president and his supporters have held public street protests every Sunday to urge people to get back to work and call for the closure of Congress and the Supreme Court. Last weekend’s anti-Bolsonaro demonstration, however, was the first to be repressed by the police.

This is no coincidence, as President Bolsonaro has built up a faithful following within Brazil’s law enforcement ranks after years of representing police officers’ agenda in Congress. During the 2018 campaign, he was regularly seen visiting Military Police barracks, taking photos with officers, and claiming their support.

The sitting administration is already heavily militarized. The number of non-civilian government officials currently hovers around 3,000 — even military dictatorship administrations included fewer representatives of the Armed Forces.

The military’s proximity to power under President Jair Bolsonaro has raised a number of concerns in a region where the Armed Forces remain major power brokers. Now, these same questions can be asked of the police’s role in the Bolsonaro administration.

Who polices the Military Police?

Brazil has four main institutions of law enforcement: first, there is the Federal Police and Federal Highway Police, which are subordinate to the Justice Ministry. Then, at the state level, there is the Military Police and the Civil Police. The latter...