The PT refrained from messing with the relationship with the military and gave up calling a conference to discuss the role of the Armed Forces. The decision was taken after a meeting of the National Directorate of the party and published in a resolution on Monday, 10. There was a separate vote by Professor Valter Pomar.
He harshly criticizes the directory’s refusal to include an amendment in its resolution saying the following: “It will not be possible to speak of full democracy in Brazil, as long as military tutelage persists. The National Directorate of the PT decides to convene a national conference to debate the National Defense policy and the role of the Armed Forces”.
The final document approved by the directorate, entitled Brazil of the present and the future: on the right course, takes stock of the first six months of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government. According to the text, the country “began the resumption of democracy and institutional normality”. The directory asks that pressure be increased for the dismissal of the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, called “stubborn” by President Lula for maintaining the basic interest rate, the Selic, at 13.75% per year.
At the end of the vote, there was no mention of the debate on the military, aborting the idea of convening a Conference on Defense and Armed Forces, a demand that has been claimed by academics and organized civil society organizations.
“We missed the opportunity to “discuss better” the military issue in the debate on the reconstruction and transformation program; we missed the opportunity to “better discuss” the military issue in the debate on the federation’s program”, stated Pomar in his blog, adding: “We missed the opportunity to “better discuss” the military issue in the debate on the coalition’s program. The same happened in the transitional government. This attitude contributed to being surprised by the 8th of January”.
The party’s general secretary, former deputy Henrique Fontana, declined to comment on Pomar’s statements. And Pomar himself also told the Estadão that all he needed to talk about was on his blog. “In the commission and in the DN, no one argued that military guardianship does not exist or should not be fought. The problem seems to be when, how and where to debate the subject. While this is not resolved, if it depends on the 47 (members of the National Board) we will have – as I wrote in the DN zap group – a fight for socialism and Petrobras, but with military tutelage.”
According to Fontana, the topic was not foreseen and there were other things to be discussed. “I’m not going to comment on that,” he said.
defense Ministry
The conferences, which are instruments of social participation, have been a practice in Esplanada ministries for several decades. One of them, that of Science and Technology, in 1985, was responsible for creating the Ministry, then handed over to PMDB member Renato Archer. Also this Thursday, the 13th, Lula signed the decree for the organization of the 5th Conference to be held next year. The same has happened in other departments that periodically call civil society and discuss topics of interest to the population and the country.
The Ministry of Defense, although it was created on June 10, 1999, 24 years ago, has never convened any conference, and the process of preparing defense documents continues to be discussed mostly by the military. The national Defense policy and strategy began to be updated, every four years, in the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces. “In fact, the documents are updated every four years, but by the military themselves with very limited external participation”, observes professor of political science, PhD, Adriana Marques, one of the researchers on the subject.
The Ministry of Defence, in response to a question from the Estadão, reported in writing that the National Defense Policy (PND), the National Defense Strategy (END) and the National Defense White Paper (LBDN) are the highest-level strategic documents in the country on National Defense. “The PND is the document that is intended to guide the efforts of the entire Brazilian society in order to gather capacities at the national level, in order to develop the conditions to guarantee the country’s sovereignty, its integrity and the achievement of national objectives”.
According to the note, the National Defense Strategy guides all segments of the Brazilian State regarding the measures to be implemented to achieve the objectives established in the National Defense Policy. “Updates of the PND and END are conducted by the Ministry of Defense and have the participation of other folders, academia, and citizens”.
However, according to academics, researchers and other members of entities linked to the theme of Defense, these discussions are carried out under the Armed Forces’ eyes. According to them, in the other Conferences, the wide social participation, allows to be debated in depth themes of interest of the population. “There is no discussion in Brazil about our Defense policy and strategy or about the role, the size of the Armed Forces that precedes and organizes the revision of Defense documents and society wants to have this discussion”, says Adriana.
Another item mentioned by the Ministry of Defense, the National Defense White Book (LDBN), the document that aims to inform society and the international community about detailed strategic, budgetary and institutional data on the Armed Forces, is prepared by the Planning Office of the Ministry which, he said, has already started to update the next version for 2024. “It is an important document, but it does not replace a National Conference. It just exposes how the Defense sector is organized, and reflects the vision of the Armed Forces”, says the professor.
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