Minister Francisco Joseli Parente Camelo, president of the Superior Military Court (STM) said that communism does not exist in Brazil and that this is not a communist country, in an interview with Bandnews TV.
The air lieutenant stated that “being left-wing” is not the same thing as being a communist. “And another thing: President Lula is a trade unionist. I do not see President Lula or have ever seen him as a communist. Why do people have a tendency to think that being left-wing means being communist? That does not exist.”
In the minister’s opinion, “being left-wing” means wanting a better country. “[A esquerda] They want a better Brazil, a more supportive Brazil, a Brazil that thinks about the poorest, that’s all what the left thinks. So, being leftist is not being communist. And communism, for me, does not exist in our country,” he explained.
When asked which political “side” he identifies with, the president of the STM claimed that the military does not have a party. “We are neither left nor right, nor do we have a party. We want the best for Brazil. We want Brazilian society to live as happily as it always has. We want pacification to return to our country”, he concluded.
