The re-election of Jair Bolsonaro, the arms business and the expansion of vigilante militias are complemented in Brazil like faces of the same and terrifying triangle. The retired captain and the Liberal Party that is leading him as a candidate have in these elections on October 2 the financial support of large businessmen and arms importers, owners of stores where you can buy firepower greater than that of the police, and the shooting clubs. Proweaponsan entity that claims the “fundamental right” to “legitimate defense” channels the money received by Bolsonarists who present themselves as guarantors of a continuity that could be threatened.
Like an actor from a Wild West movie, Bolsonaro turned his imitation with the hands of a shot in a symbol of identity of the far right. That gesticulation is a kind of watchword in campaign events. The index finger points, the thumb trigger. A true symbol of an era that, if the polls are correct, could conclude this Sunday with the victory of Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva in the first round. But the retired captain went far beyond the warmongering mime: he has signed 40 decrees that gave support to his slogan “an armed people will never be enslaved“.
figures that scare
That rhetoric of the gun has been translated into unpublished numbers that, curiously, they are not part of the electoral debate: official permits to carry weapons, disguised under the figures of “hunters”, “sports shooters” and “collectors” have gone from 350,683 in 2018 to 1,006,725, a number that exceeds the number of police officers spread over a territory of continental dimensions: 406,384. The data is partly misleading and would not be accounting for the magnitude of the problem. In accordance with Folha of Sao Paulo, the Army itself has admitted to being unable to prepare detailed reports on the weapons acquired under those categories.
The Brazilian Forum of Public Security estimates that some 4.4 million weapons circulate in private hands. A third of that number have expired permits. “There are almost 700,000 people who are armed with little or no inspection on the eve of the electoral contest,” warned Bruno Langeani, president of the Soy de Paz Institute and author of the essay. Firearm in Brazil: trigger of violence. Langeani has detected a increase in purchases in recent months. Magazine Piaui estimates that 1,300 weapons are registered every day. In July alone, 40,000 were imported. The legal framework has allowed members of criminal factions in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to be armed despite their extensive criminal records and pay for their rifle or revolver in easy installments.
Militias and Bolsonarismo
The same political logic has facilitated the growth of illegal armed groups that make up ex-military police and firefighters in Rio de Janeiro. They were born under the protection of the mafias that control the “game do bug”as is known underground lottery that moves millions of euros. The matrix of the expansion of the militias was extortive: security to the cariocas in exchange for money. They have also become providers of informal transportation services, cable television, gas sales, and bottled water. They even charge for consultations in public hospitals.
that luck of parallel state entrenched in the “wonderful city” affects the lives of 1.7 million inhabitants. The areas under their control increased by 387% in a period of 16 years, going from 52.6 km² to 256.3 km². The militias are found especially in the western part of Rio de Janeiro and dispute territory with the main drug trafficking groups, the Comando Vermelho (CV), the Tercer Comando Puro (TCP) and Amigos de los Amigos (ADA). However, there is no lack of associations between them. In addition to displaying rifles and shrapnel, its members are usually ardent defenders of Bolsonaro. They not only support his candidacy. The militiamen try to gain a place in the municipal legislatures and even in the National Congress.
old relationships
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Throughout the electoral campaign, Lula called his opponent a “militian” on more than one occasion. Relations between the Bolsonaro clan and those groups have been widely known since 2019. In fact, his son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro had close ties to Adriano Magalhães da Nóbrega, better known as “Captain Adriano”, who died in 2020 in the middle of a shootout with security forces.
The current governor of the state of Rio, Claudius Castro, he is an ally of the president and the polls predict his re-election. The right to arm is part of his creed. Days ago he received the support of the dentist and municipal legislator Fernanda Costa, none other than the daughter of Luiz Fernando da Costa, alias Fernandinho Beira-Mar, the drug dealer who is serving life imprisonment and came to be considered the Brazilian version of Pablo Escobar. The circle of violence closes without leaving seams in the air.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.