This week, in addition to the imprisonment of former President Jair Bolsonaro – a retired Army captain himself – Generals Augusto Heleno Pereira, Paulo Sergio Nogueira, and Walter Braga Netto, and Admiral Almir Garnier were also arrested.

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This is the first time in Brazil’s history that military personnel have been arrested for direct involvement in a coup plot.

In the view of Professor Mateus Torres, 40 years after the end of the military dictatorship in Brazil, a path towards consolidating democracy is now in place.

“Even if the military decided to attempt a coup, as has happened several times in the republic, this is no longer accepted by our democracy,” the expert said.

Dirt under the rug

Regarding the proposals being debated in Congress to grant amnesty to coup plotters, Professor Torres recalls that demands like this have been successful at other times in Brazil’s history. However, he does not believe that a possible pardon could pacify the country or reduce polarization.

“Amnesty does not appease anything. It sweeps the dirt under the rug. Amnesty, in these cases, leads to impunity for coup plotters,” he argued.

The professor also describes the possibility of military personnel losing their ranks in proceedings at the Superior Military Court after a conviction in a civil court as historic.

“There is nothing more unworthy than going against our democracy. We know there is corporatism. But right now, there is a climate for this [the loss of ranks] to happen,” he went on to argue.