Shaky Bolsonaro Regime Spurs Fear Of Military Coup

The New York Times reports:

The threats are swirling around the president: Deaths from the virus in Brazil each day are now the highest in the world. Investors are fleeing the country. The president, his sons and his allies are under investigation. His election could even be overturned.

The crisis has grown so intense that some of the most powerful military figures in Brazil are warning of instability — sending shudders that they could take over and dismantle Latin America’s largest democracy.

But far from denouncing the idea, President Jair Bolsonaro’s inner circle seems to be clamoring for the military to step into the fray. In fact, one of the president’s sons, a congressman who has praised the country’s former military dictatorship, said a similar institutional break was inevitable.

Read the full article.

With coronavirus cases spiking in Brazil, the economy faltering and President Jair Bolsonaro under fire, he and his allies have raised the prospect of military intervention to protect his grip on power https://t.co/JVVTTphJH9

— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 10, 2020

Nearly half of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s cabinet is made up of military figures. As pressure builds on him, critics contend he is relying on the threat of military intervention to ward off challenges to his presidency. https://t.co/iPNeN8JEuC

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) June 10, 2020