President Joe Biden's defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, talked on Tuesday in Brazil about militaries being under firm civilian control.

According to Reuters, the loyalty of the Brazilian Army to the Constitution has become a central issue in Brazil as the October presidential election gets near. During the formal launching of his reelection bid on Sunday, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said: "The Army is on our side."

Austin spoke at the 15th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas (CDMA) in the capital, Brasilia. He said credible deterrence needs military and security forces that "are ready, capable, and under firm civilian control."

Austin noted that the "more we deepen our democracies, the more we deepen our security." Austin is set to hold bilateral talks with Brazil's delegations on Wednesday.

A senior U.S. defense official said Austin will highlight the need for militaries to respect democracies. However, the official did provide details on what Austin will discuss with his Brazilian counterparts.

U.S. Representative Tom Malinowski told Reuters that the defense secretary should make clear that the military should stay out of the election. 

Malinowski, a member of the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, added the military should also allow any disputes about the election to be resolved by constitutional means.

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Visits Brazil to Assert Role of the Military in a Democratic Society

Jair Bolsonaro recently told diplomats that the Brazilian military should be called in to help secure transparency in the election.

The Brazilian president also pushed electoral authorities to accept a parallel vote count to be done by the armed forces, which they have ruled out. Military leaders have reiterated their remark that the country's armed forces will respect any result of the election.

Aljazeera reported that Bolsonaro had been publicly casting doubt on the validity of the country's electoral system as some opinion polls showed him down almost 20 percentage points against his primary presidential opponent, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In a press release, the U.S. Department of Defense said that Lloyd Austin's visit will support "affirming the role of the military in a democratic society."

Some military officials have echoed Jair Bolsonaro's comments about Brazil's possible weaknesses in its voting system.

Jair Bolsonaro on Brazil's Presidential Election

According to BBC, Jair Bolsonaro promised to maintain a welfare program that makes cash payments to low-income Brazilians. On the other hand, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is known for his policies to lift people out of poverty.

The first round of the election is set for October 2, while the second round will be on October 30 if none of the candidates gets 50% of the votes.

The right-wing Liberal Party officially endorsed Bolsonaro's candidacy. Bolsonaro has repeatedly claimed that the current electronic system is open to fraud without providing any evidence to support the allegations.

In the formal launching of his reelection bid on Sunday, Bolsonaro said in his speech that the army is on their side, adding that the military does not accept corruption or fraud. Before becoming Brazil's president, Bolsonaro was an army captain.

Bolsonaro, who is often compared to former President Donald Trump, also announced during the event that former Brazilian defense minister General Walter Braga Netto would be his running mate for the vice president position.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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