THE MILITARY IN BOLSONARO'S GOVERNMENT: Brazilian democracy under tutelage?

Abstract

The following work aims to analyze the motivations for the extensive political participation of the Brazilian Army in Bolsonaro's government and its relation to submission of Brazilian democracy between the years 2013-2018, specifically, how we arrived at the government with the historically largest number of military in cabinet. For this, it is necessary to make a historical reconstruction of the formation of the Brazilian Republic and the current normative conditions that continue to allow the military act as the "moderating power" of the Republic. At first, we will see how, at various times in Brazilian political life, the Army were active subjects of social transformations in Brazil. In a second part, critically, we will use concepts developed by Florestan Fernandes to understand fundamental elements of the national State. Finally, after this historical overview and critical analysis of the Republic, starting from a case study of the Brazilian situation, we will see how in the recent period, the role of the Army is central to the institutional crisis that we are experiencing, its premises and its effects in relation to Brazilian democracy. It was concluded from the research that there is Military tutelage of the Republic, that this phenomenon hampers Brazilian democratic culture and that it finds its roots in our historical formation.