Jamil Chad How diplomats sabotaged Bolsonaro from Itamaraty 07/12/2022 04h00

Two diplomats enter a cafe in a European capital. One of them is Brazilian and carries top-secret information. Your task is to defuse a bomb. It looks like a spy movie, but the scene is real and repeated in the Bolsonaro government.

A secret resistance network was formed in Itamaraty to sabotage Bolsonarist foreign policy.

Issues such as climate change, human rights, the Palestinian problem and even the War in Ukraine were addressed in these secret meetings approved by the UOL with 13 Itamaraty officials, including ambassadors and administrative officials, and in an extensive and still unpublished study by the FGV. researchers and from Oxford.

The purposes of the hidden network were:

• Give the other country time to react Changes in Brazil’s foreign policy before a crisis occurs
• Maintaining Brazil’s credibility abroad and save decades of building national diplomacy

Secret meetings were only one of the sabotage tactics of the resistance, and also:

1. Create a plan for direct contacts with foreign governmentsWithout having to go through the Itamaraty summit and in order to defuse diplomatic crises.
2. He limited himself to reading “the instruction from Brasilia”.at meetings at the UN, WHO or OAS without a commitment to persuade other countries to follow Brazil in their positions.
3. Copied documents it can be used to defend a diplomat against charges and to record the illegality of certain Planalto’s actions.
4. Recorded secret meetings That the Bolsonarist leadership ordered the suspension of the provisions of the document or the veto of certain resolutions that spoke the word “gender” or other sensitive issues.
5. Information leaked to civil society About Brazil’s position in the hope that public pressure will be exerted to prevent certain action from being taken.
6. published articles on behalf of another person or academic.
7. “Drifting Foot”Reducing the pace of work in the implementation of the instructions set by the Bolsonarist leadership.
8. cheated on his boss or other governments’ positions or statuses, hiding from the summit what is absolutely necessary.
9. Meetings held without minutes on the official agendait keeps certain issues or discussions from getting on the board’s radar.

During the four years of Jair Bolsonaro’s government, an atmosphere of fear, retaliation and persecution settled in Itamaraty.

The tradition and technical appointments that have always clearly guided Brazil’s positions abroad, from the promotion of diplomats, left the scene, and political appointments and the necessary ideological alignment with the Bolsonarist core entered the scene.

The same conditions were found in research coordinated by FGV professor Gabriela Lotta in partnership with Izabela Corrêa of Oxford and Mariana Costa of FGV.

Researchers interviewed diplomats in different career positions from different countries and sectors of Itamaraty.

All surveys are conducted confidentially and anonymously to protect the identity of the respondents.

According to employees interviewed, Bolsonaro management encouraged:

• Following what diplomats like on social media, whether they are members of a political party or even who they are married to. One employee reported that her husband was not promoted after it was “discovered” that he was working in a previous government.
• Replacing employees who are committed to work on issues contrary to Bolsonaro’s agenda like climate, environment, gender and human rights by people loyal to the government.
• Overseas promotions and transfers It has become a bargaining chip and a tool of threat.
• Words like “gender”, “Cuba” and “climate change” are banned, official documents of the past have been avoided or even deleted. One employee admitted that his job was to change ceremonies, speeches, information on the official website and telegrams.

In this new phase, women and homosexuals were especially targeted.???????? FGV researcher Gabriela Lotta said, “Certain practices, such as masculinization and aisle jokes, have a comeback.”

The thing I heard most in interviews was: Sukita’s uncle normalized

What does Itamaraty say about the allegations?

Anything. When asked to comment on the report, the State Department remained silent.

The number of dismissals has reached such a point that an unofficial nickname has even been created for diplomats stationed where they do nothing: “The Department of Stairs and Corridors”.

An iconic example occurred during the first months of the rule of former chancellor Ernesto Araújo, who decided to isolate. disabling diplomat Audo Faleiro???????? Rationale: He would work for PT governments.

In mid-2019, Faleiro left his post in Paris to return to Itamaraty. He was made head of the European Division, and two days later Araújo’s office informed him that his post should be withdrawn.

The diplomat remained in the Itamaraty library for six months., waiting for a new job. He was placed in the Finance Department only in March 2020. Even so, without the right to attend some meetings and with a commitment not to take over the department in the absence of the chairman.

For many, Faleiro was used as an example:

Look what can happen to you. Don’t do this if you don’t want to be the next Audo

extent of damage

Accounts equate to four years turning Brazil into an international pariah.

For Gabriela Lotta, the influence was not limited to the walls of the Itamaraty Palace.

“Brazilian diplomacy has its own morality and influence, based on tradition and expertise. The government has denied this, undermined foreign policy and undermined Brazil’s diplomacy and image.”

In the opinion of the researcher and of the ambassadors and diplomats heard by the UOL, the way to survive in one of the darkest moments of Brazilian democracy was to resist and sabotage.

But many have paid a heavy price, both professionally and mentally.

The use of black stripes has become widespread