Principal of Military School, in AM, tries to influence student vote: ‘Do I want my country to become a Venezuela?’

Paula Litaiff – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The major of the Military Police of Amazonas (PM/AM) major Pedro Henrique, manager of the Military School Colonel Pedro Camara (CMPM VIII), in the West Zone of Manaus, manifested in an audio, on Tuesday, 4, trying to influence high school students to vote in the presidential elections. The major is an assumed voter of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), candidate for reelection in the second round with former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT)

During the class break, Pedro Henrique took dozens of students to the school’s multi-sports court without telling them in advance about the subject of the conversation. With the students gathered around, the major used terms related to the country and religion. CENARIUM MAGAZINE had access, with exclusivity, to audio excerpts of the dialogue between the military and the students, and also to prints of conversations in the school’s WhatsApp group showing the reaction of the teachers.

In the recording, major Pedro Henrique tells the students in a loud voice: “So, pay close attention. What do I want for my country? Do I want my Country to become a Venezuela?”, he asks. And the students answer loudly, “No!”.

Teachers Military School CMPM VIII showed indignation in the teachers’ group on the app chat: “So you mean the students were taken to the sports court to be encouraged by the manager to vote right? For God and family? Is that right, manager?”, one teacher questioned without getting a response from the major in the group.

Fear of retaliation

In conversation with a professional from the Military School of Manaus, who will not be identified for personal protection, he says that many teachers and servers of the school already followed the attempt of the major and other military to “indoctrinate” the students to vote for President Jair Bolsonaro. They did not report the case to the Secretary of Education for fear of reprisal.

The employee told CENARIUM MAGAZINE excerpts of Major Pedro Henrique’s dialogue that do not appear in the audio. “He talked about women needing to work harder because they don’t have the strength for certain work activities. He talked about drugs and God”, he reported.

“They only had high school students. Ninth graders did not participate. He talked about family, about God, about bathrooms, and that he would like a government that is good for them, that has God. It was a speech that we know is bolsonarist”, said the professional. He also says that the manager said that women have to work.

Still in the conversations of the group of school employees, one of the employees asks for action: “I would like to know what measures will be taken about this”. Another member of the group says he will denounce it: “With respect for the democratic process, I will do what is right: register with the appropriate authorities”, he said.

Social networks

After Colonel Pedro Camara teachers’ threats against major Pedro Henrique’s indoctrination attempt, the military deactivated all his social networks.

Brazil vs. Venezuela

The distorted narrative of Brazil “turning” Venezuela gained strength in the 2018 presidential election, when Bolsonaro won over then PT candidate Fernando Haddad. In the 2022 elections, the issue resurfaced.

In reference to the lack of supply that Venezuela is facing, bolsonarists spoke of the risk that Brazil would be running under a “communist” government. The PT is currently considered a center-left party and could not be considered socialist or communist.

The current president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, is from the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (in Spanish, Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela), better known as PSUV, founded in 2007, according to the party’s history.

A Serious Act

For Marcelo Seraphic, a doctor in Sociology graduated from the Federal University of Amazonas (Ufam), any attempt to make political proselytism, at election time, in schools, is a serious act. Proselytism is the attempt to convert people, or certain groups, to a certain idea or religion, or to gain adherents via oral instruction. 

“It mixes certain roles of teachers, principals and the institution with what is pedagogy and education. It would be another thing to promote political debate about the various orientations circulating in society. This would even be very healthy and is the opposite of political proselytism”, said Seraphic.

No party?

Marcelo Seraphic also registers that the denunciation comes from a school that defended the School Without Party movement (in portuguese, Escola Sem Partido), which arises from a concern with the degree of political-ideological contamination of Brazilian schools:

“It should be registered how it is, if not curious, ironic and, perhaps, cynical, to come from an institution like this, from which many proposals linked to the idea of school without party have been disseminated in society for a long time. What this shows is that, in fact, nobody was worried”, he observed.

For the scientist, there was no real intention of the advocates of the school without party. “None of these people were concerned with secular, critical, open, democratic education, but rather as a school devoted to their party or what is even worse, devoted to their candidate. This is cynicism, and the people responsible for it should be denounced”, concluded the sociologist.

The Amazonas Secretary of Education informed that the Military School CMPM VIII is a Military Police responsibility. Until the closing of this article, the Military Police did not comment. The major of the Military Police Pedro Henrique was sought but did not answer the calls.