Independence Day celebrations are expected across the country on Wednesday, with festivities largely organized by the military in the form of parades and shows of equipment. Bolsonaro himself plans to attend a military parade in capital city Brasilia that morning, where he will make a speech, and then give another speech on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach.
Every year in September 7 in Brazil is a day of colorful parades, military demonstrations and national pride, as the country celebrates gaining its independence from colonial Portugal.
But as Brazil heads toward presidential elections next month, President Jair Bolsonaro appears to be twisting the national holiday toward partisan ends.
Independence Day celebrations are expected across the country on Wednesday, with festivities largely organized by the military in the form of parades and shows of equipment. Bolsonaro himself plans to attend a military parade in capital city Brasilia that morning, where he will make a speech, and then give another speech on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach.
But at the same time, his presidential campaign has planned reelection rallies in hundreds of cities. Bolsonaro supporter Paulo Roseno, a former military sergeant who is helping to organize one such rally in Sao Paulo, told CNN he is expecting millions of people to be gathered on the city’s Paulista Avenue in support of Bolsonaro’s candidacy.
Though it is supposed to be a nonpartisan national holiday, the president has often referred to Independence Day as a key milestone in his reelection campaign, telling supporters to prepare to “give their lives” on that day – an escalation in rhetoric even for the outspoken populist President.
“I call on all of you, on September 7, to take to the streets for the last time… All of you here have sworn to give your life for your freedom. Repeat with me: I swear to give my life for freedom,” Bolsonaro said, as he accepted the Liberal Party’s presidential nomination on July 23.
More recently, Bolsonaro told fans to show up to Independence Day celebrations in Rio, where he will be speaking, to “make a stand” and “fight for your freedom” – vague injunctions that critics warn could be interpreted as incitement to unruly behavior.
“(September 7) is the time to fight for your freedom.. let’s go make a stand,” the President told viewers during the live address on social media Thursday.
“If someone is accused of an undemocratic act, I want to pay myself for their (legal) defense,” he added, using the same term for attacks on Brazilian institutions and democratic norms of which he himself has often been accused.
The President’s calls to action have been widely interpreted as echoing the election-denying rhetoric of former US President Donald Trump, whose convocation of supporters in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, preceded a riot on Capitol Hill.
“Bolsonaro and Trump share the same authoritarian populist playbook,” says Guilherme Casarões, professor of political science at Getulio Vargas University and coordinator of Brazil’s Far Right Observatory.
“Both indicated they would refuse to accept an electoral result negative to them, both talk about fraud in the ballots. They both also keep a permanent incitement of their radicalized base.”
He told CNN that that he foresees a “real risk” of a Jan. 6-type event in Brazil if Bolsonaro’s leftwing rival, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, eventually claims victory at the polls.
“I don’t think we’re going to have a coup in the classic sense with the military on the street, like what happened in 1964,” he said, referring to the historic overthrow that led to two decades of military dictatorship in Brazil.
“What I think is more likely to happen is an attempted coup, some kind of subversion of democracy…or any attempt to delay the electoral process by introducing doubts about the legitimacy of the process.”
CNN has reached out to Bolsonaro’s office for comment.
Election paranoia and fears of unrest
Waldir Ferraz, a close friend of Bolsonaro who is also organizing the President’s motorcade through Rio, downplays the possibility that the President’s statements could incite unrest or produce chaos.
The Independence Day festivities in Rio will simply demonstrate the breadth of Bolsonaro’s support, he told CNN, with “a sea of green and yellow.”
But he admits that this show of support is in part motivated by fans’ anger at an electoral system that they have been led to believe is tainted – despite the lack of evidence.
“There will be more than 1 million on the streets in Rio, because people now are angry with [Supreme Electoral Court chief] Alexandre de Moraes,” Ferraz says.
De Moraes, a longtime thorn in Bolsonaro’s side, this month greenlit search and seizure operations against several businessmen accused of participating in WhatsApp text conversations advocating a coup if Bolsonaro loses the presidential election, CNN Brasil reported.
Source: CNN
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