Brazil’s Anti-Democratic Police Must be Held Accountable

By Erika Larkins and Susana Durão

In the leadup to the election, there was much speculation about whether or not

Bolsonaro had the kind of institutional support from the military or other political leaders

to carry out a coup if he lost. We now know he does not. Brazil's democratic institutions

are working. But what the events of the last month have revealed is that the outgoing

president, together with his remaining allies and his politician sons, have strategically

weaponized the police force, with potentially long-term consequences. The politicization

of the police poses a real risk to the construction of a flourishing, progressive Brazil.

Breaking with a culture of impunity should be among Lula’s first priorities as when he

takes office.

Starting on election day, one particular police force emerged as the armed wing of

Bolsonarismo: the Federal Highway Police, which just so happens to be controlled

directly by the president, not state governors. While millions of Brazilians went to the

polls, this force carried out a highly unusual set of actions. Following a plan supposedly

hatched at the presidential residence in the days prior to the election, the force

established an unprecedented number of police checkpoints (almost 600), stopping

vehicles and checking IDs and preventing people from reaching the polls. Checkpoints

occurred in greatest numbers in the North and Northeast region, where Lula enjoys the

greatest support. Police participation in what amounts to voter suppression is under

investigation by Federal Prosecutors in Brasilia

Anti-democratic protests spread across the country in the aftermath of the election.

Fueled by Bolsonaro’s dog whistling, his supporters took to the streets, shutting down

roads with trucks, with over 962 blockades in 25 states. Some called for military

intervention. Others even evoked Nazis. The Federal Highway Police again played a

problematic role. The same force which so effectively stopped buses on election day

seemed to move at a snail's pace when it came to removing blockades, so much so that

the Supreme Court ordered their commander be fined 100,000 reais for every hour of

what seemed to be inaction. In a chilling video which went viral, one officer told a

cheering crowd that his only order was to be out in the streets with them. In a handful of

states, the Military Police had to be called out by the state governors to do the work

their colleagues would not or could not.

The Federal Highway Police is relatively young compared to other law enforcement

groups in Brazil. It doesn't have a strong identity, making it more open to political

manipulation. Commander Silvinei Vasques, who was supposedly recommended for his

post by Flavio Bolsonaro in 2021, has transformed the force. Through untransparent

pork barrel funding mechanisms, known as the “secret budget,” developed under the

current government and which are now under investigation, two of Bolsonaro’s sons,

who hold elected office in the legislature, are alleged to have sent millions of reais to

Vasques and other top brass. Vasques even called for people to vote for Bolsonaro on

social media.

Under Vasques’ leadership, the Federal Highway Police began to branch out from a

more traditional scope of work policing highways to be active participants in police

operations in favelas for example, far outside of their jurisdiction and beyond their legal

mandate. They have also been the perpetrators of several recent cases of brutality,

including the massacre of 26 men suspected of planning a bank robbery in Minas

Gerais, and the use of tear gas on an already restrained suspect that led to his death.

In the immediate aftermath of the election, political pressure finally forced the police to

do their job. For now. Lula and his administration must immediately look for ways to

seek accountability for those officers who supported calls for the coup and encouraged

undemocratic unrest. Brazil cannot have a police force working to undermine the

president, be it via active steps like suppressing the vote, or passive ones, where

officers simply looked the other way. The future stability of the country depends on it.

Dr. Erika Larkins is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Behner Stiefel Chair of

Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University

Dr. Susana Durão is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Secretary of Security at

the State University of Campinas, São Paulo.