Address by the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, during the ceremony for the handing over of the post of Minister of Defense from Mr. Joaquim Silva e Luna to General Fernando Azevedo - Brasília/DF
Brasília-DF, January 2, 2019
It goes without saying, but hierarchy, discipline and respect will make Brazil a great nation.
Thank you very much, Commander Villas Bôas. What we have already talked about will stay between us. You're one of the people responsible for me being here, sir. Thank you so much again.
Authorities, if you will allow me not to nominate them individually, to be as brief as possible, thank you very much for your presence. Especially Dias Toffoli, Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court and Mrs. Raquel Dodge, of the Public Prosecution Service.
A brief history, since we are talking about Defense. I've been a friend of Mr. Leônidas Pires Gonçalves, then Minister of the Army, since 2002. I spoke at length with him often, including at his residence. And he always told me about the contacts he had, with the then President of the Republic, José Sarney.
At one point, at a solemn session of the Senate, I took the floor, as it was a joint session, and I alluded to that fact, saluting José Sarney, who, every time the year ended, would find a way to get extra funds to contemplate the Armed Forces with the equivalent of US$ 1 billion. And by the way, there was no budget appropriation at that time. With Sarney, we also had the 13th salary.
Then we had Mr. Fernando Collor de Mello. I can't fail to mention Delegated Law No. 12, which you succeeded to pass, and which restructured our career, creating a salary bonus for military activity. Thank you very much for the recognition.
Then we had Mr. Itamar Franco. In the middle of his term, we had here a so-called wage equality. It lasted a short time, but it was welcome.
Then we had the other administration, and you know what it was. We had some problems, especially with me, but we continued on our journey.
The Ministry of Defense was created in [19]99. Only three deputies voted against the creation of the Ministry of Defense. The understanding of one of them, which was me, was that it was not coming from a military necessity but rather by political imposition. And everything would turn into uncertainty from that moment on.
And, of course, in spite of some good civil ministers we had, dear Raul Jungmann, as a rule we were somewhat forgotten. And forgotten why? Because the Armed Forces, Justice Toffoli, Mrs. Raquel Dodge, the Armed Forces are, in fact, an obstacle for those who want to usurp power. We have as an inheritance of this government that I mentioned recently a provisional measure, No. 2215, which we hope, dear Minister Fernando, that it will not turn 19.
Time passed, our Armed Forces suffered a brutal fraying of relationships with the political class, but not with the Brazilian people, who continued to believe in us. And the Armed Forces have always refuted the use of the term “civil society”, because we are a single society.
And nowadays, the situation in which I find myself, the situation that Brazil has arrived at, is incontestable proof that the people, for the most part, want hierarchy, respect, order and progress.
And all of our work, over the course of four years, in fact, when I started to walk through Brazil alone, seeking to make the possibility of an election feasible, is something I fulfilled by choosing technical ministers for their respective areas. And the Defense could not escape the rule.
Obviously, President Temer anticipated this and chose a good Minister of Defense. Just as we could have dozens of good Ministers of Defense here, like dozens of good Presidents of the Republic.
And the great truth that remains in all this story is that we want what is good for Brazil. More than defending the homeland, what we want is to make this a great homeland. And we will only do it if we have a good team at our side, where everyone talks to each other, where there is none of the party-political interference that, unfortunately, has occurred in the last 20 years, and led to ineffectiveness of the State and our sad corruption.
But the moment today is to welcome the arrival of new blood in the Ministry of Defense: General Fernando, my colleague at the Agulhas Negras Military Academy, which obviously takes over the Ministry of Defense more than well arranged by Silva e Luna, an excellent man, whom I do intend, if it is his interest, to employ you in our administration. He's not going to put his pajamas on. Be sure about that.
If I am here, it is because I believe in you, ladies and gentlemen in attendance. And if the ladies and gentlemen are here, it's because they believe in Brazil. And it is undeniable proof of the value of the Armed Forces that when I chose... That decision was personal and mine, right, Gustavo Bebianno? It was personal and mine. Obviously, I listened to my colleagues, but the final decision could only be mine. I have chosen, honorably, to occupy the post of Vice-President of the Republic, a General of the Brazilian Army.
The salute has to be simultaneous. because I tell him that I am no longer captain, nor he a general. We are soldiers of Brazil.
Dear General Fernando, if Your Excellency is happy and honorable with this invitation, much more so am I for Your Excellency to have accepted it. There is no place in this Brazil, in this immensity of eight and a half million square kilometers, where our Armed Forces is not present or, if necessary, that it can be sent to these corners.
This Brazil is ours. Together with the other Branches, the Legislative and Judiciary, well represented here by Chief Justice Dias Toffoli, we will make Brazil a great nation.
Fernando, welcome. Thank you very much. And I'm sure not just the Armed Forces, but Brazil, will be all the better for your presence.
Thank you all.