“Die for the free fatherland or Brazil!” They repeat like a prayer for several minutes. Your gaze is directed forward. But there is no altar, but the military command of the South-East in the metropolis of Brazil Sao Paulo, The verse they recite in the chorus is from the first anthem of the Brazilian monarchy after its independence from Portugal in 1822. After a good 200 years, an empire, a republic and a military dictatorship, hundreds of liberated Brazilians are now out in the streets, equipped in the latest national team shirts, mobile phones in hand to call for a coup.
Radical supporters of the ousted president have been demonstrating since the election jair bolsonaro Against the results of the October 30 run-off election, in which Bolsonaro lost to former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the leftist Workers’ Party by nearly two percentage points. Hundreds of road blockades were initially set up after the election, which were handled by the police for several days. In many places the officers were seen colluding.
Especially in remote areas, barriers still exist today and hinder, for example, the transport of agricultural goods. Later, protesters began gathering in front of the country’s military installations. The besiegers have turned into regular camps with tents, latrines, field kitchens and medical posts. The army is watching.
Mara, 41, has been in front of the military command in Sao Paulo since the first day after the election. This is where the fitness trainer, who did not want to reveal her full name, pitched her tent with a friend. You take turns, she says. She comes back everyday after work. “Electoral fraud was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” but it started long ago with oppression by constitutional Court And the censorship started. Order must be restored and those responsible for this “dictatorship” of the judiciary must be punished. “Only the military can solve this,” she says. This is a call for a coup.
There is a mix of festival atmosphere and military nostalgia in the camp opposite the military command in São Paulo. Protected from the weather under tent canopies, small groups sit in camping chairs, drink, eat, discuss and affirm each other. They keep staring at their phones, which feed them all kinds of true and false information through social networks. March music sounds from the camouflage tent. On the roof there is a sign in English: “Brazil Stolen”.
Everyone here believes in secret elections. They don’t need any proof. The call for help “SOS Armed Forces” can be read on another board. Next door, a tent says “Civilian Resistance”. In between, vendors offer food and drink as well as national flags and the yellow and green national colors that everyone here wears. Free food is provided in various tents. “Everything is donated,” says one of the assistants. By whom, he does not know. The judiciary and the investigating officer are probing. There is evidence of strong financial support from some entrepreneurs.
“Army is our only hope”
Mara believes the protests are on the rise. New “patriots” keep coming. “We must fight now, before it is too late.” It does not accept that seeking military intervention, that is, a coup, is against the law. “We have a right to ask for it. If it is a people’s initiative then there is no coup,” she says. If there was a coup, it was an election. Therefore your claim is valid. “The army is our only hope.” We will continue and see how it turns out.
Introvert. Proud beer specialist. Coffee geek. Typical thinker. Pop culture trailblazer. Music practitioner. Explorer.
