MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro insists his followers must prepare for war ahead of October elections

”We know that the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) takes arbitrary measures against the democratic rule of law,” Bolsonaro said in a speech

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called on his followers Friday to be ready and spare their country from following the same paths as other South American nations in the Oct. 2 elections.

The head of state also renewed his diatribes against the judiciary by saying that “a new kind of thief has emerged, the one who wants to steal our freedom,” in reference to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) where he is under investigation for allegedly threatening the constitutional system and spreading fake news.

“I ask you to be more and more interested in this issue and, if necessary, we will go to war. I want my people to be aware of the reason why they are fighting. We all have a commitment to give our lives for our country, not only the military. We cannot let Brazil follow the path of other countries in South America,” said the former Army captain before rural power businessmen and supporters in Umurama, Paraná state, where he also spoke in favor of unrestricted gun ownership for citizens.

Bolsonaro named Venezuela, Chile, and Argentina as examples that were unwise to follow, while he regretted the governments of Chile and Canada taking steps towards restricting access to guns by ordinary citizens. Then he insisted Brazil was “the best country in the world, coveted by many.”

“Many countries want what we have, countries do not have friends, but interests. We are the food guarantee for many. Some countries think they are doing us a favor by buying from us, but without us they would have no one to buy from,” Bolsonaro assured.

Bolsonaro's call for war is part of a fear on the part of opponents that he will not recognize the electoral result in case of defeat.

Bolsonaro also defended the exculpation of a lawmaker who was convicted of spreading fake news about alleged fraud in the 2018 elections. ”We know that the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) takes arbitrary measures against the democratic rule of law, attacks democracy, and does not want transparency in the electoral system,“ he said.

Congressman Fernando Francischini had claimed it was common knowledge that under the country's electronic voting system, in the 2018 elections whenever a citizen typed ”17” -which corresponded to Bolsonaro's Social Liberal Party (PSL) ticket- the computers entered it as a “13” of the Workers' Party. Bolsonaro has insisted that had there been no fraud he would have won in the first round.