PMs boost server applications

The political rise of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who has strong support among police officers, is seen as one of the factors behind the increase in candidacies from representatives of the sector. In addition to the demands of the corporation, the candidate police officers began to defend ideological and customary agendas. According to the survey, from 2018 to 2022 there was a 39,41% increase in PM candidacies for federal and state Legislatures.

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“We have a series of problems in the structure that affect the daily lives of police workers. These problems are old and known to those who work in the area, whether they are police officers or not”, said the director-president of the Brazilian Public Security Forum, Renato Sérgio de Lima, citing everything from low salaries to issues related to security. “We always have people denouncing the sector’s ills, but little progress. One of the consequences is an associative movement in the case of the PMs or a union movement in the others.”

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When emerging as a candidate in the last three elections, Luis Antonio Clemente, Sergeant Clemente, sought to combat the “political system”. “Corruption, lack ofprometime. A revolt”, he stated, citing his three candidacies: for councilor, in 2016 and 2020, and for state deputy, in 2018. Without being elected, the São Paulo Military Police sergeant remained active and, this year, is seeking a seat of the Chamber of Deputies, for the União Brasil party.

The increase in applications, however, represents a dilemma, in Lima's opinion. Before, police officers mainly defended issues linked to the sector; now, when raising ideological issues, they share votes with other candidates who are not in the category. “The centralization in the figure of Bolsonaro and the increase in the number of candidates, because traditional leaders have been weakened, could cause a reduction in the number of elected officials.”

PT and PL must elect larger benches; Chamber will remain liberal

Regardless of the result of the presidential election, the polarization between Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should continue in Congress. Projection made by the Inter-Union Parliamentary Advisory Department (Diap) shows that the parties of the two candidates – PL and PT – should elect the largest benches in the Chamber of Deputies.

“It is an authoritarian and conservative culture, which developed, above all, from the end of the 1990s”, said Rodrigo Lentz, professor at the University of Brasília (UnB), who studies the participation of the military in politics.

Also according to the survey by Instituto República.org, applications from members of the security forces, which include, in addition to PMs, military firefighters, members of the Armed Forces, retired military personnel and civil police officers, registered a growth of 92,89% since 2002, with representation among the total number of candidates rising from 4,39% to 5,07% in the period. Among civil servants, this percentage fell from 7,78% to 6,04%.

Corporatism

Carlos Ari Sundfeld, professor at Fundação Getulio Vargas, highlighted that the increase in civil servant applications can, at the same time, help advance agendas linked to strategic sectors and also help maintain privileges. “There is no harm to public servants in running for office,” he said, citing the right to paid leave during the campaign period.

A strong bench can contribute to increased investment in a sector and career improvements. There is, however, a risk that the concentration of civil servants will unbalance discussions related to administrative reform.

(Estadão Conteúdo)