The Brazilian Minister of Defense, José Múcio, assured that his country does not have the capacity to militarily confront the United States in the event of a hypothetical invasion and stated that, in that scenario, the most sensible option would be to “open the door.”
The unusual statement was made during an event organized by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), where the official defended the need to increase the budget allocated to Defense.
“I constantly see journalists asking: ‘If the United States wants to invade Brazil, what would you do as Minister of Defense?’ I open the door, because we do not have the equipment to confront them, nor do we have the money to repair the door. I prefer to open the door,” Múcio stated during his public address.
José Múcio and Lula da Silva
The minister's proposal is part of a broader argument aimed at justifying an increase in defense spending.
As he explained, Brazil currently allocates about 1% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to this sector, a level he deemed insufficient compared to other countries and which limits the possibility of making sustained investments in technology and military equipment.
In this regard, Múcio compared defense funding to a preventive coverage system. “Investing in defense is like a health plan. We choose the best one, hoping not to have to use it,” he noted, while clarifying that the goal is not to prepare the country for military conflicts, but to ensure deterrent capacity and technological development.
Lula da Silva
Lula against historical leftist positions
The statements from the Defense Minister come in a context where the dictator Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva himself also raised the need to increase the military budget.
During the national convention of the Workers' Party, where he was proclaimed a candidate for reelection, the president rejected the historical stance of leftist sectors regarding defense spending.
“The issue of defense: I want to ask the left to set aside this nonsense, this idea that we do not have to worry about defense. This country has 16,800 kilometers of land border and 8,000 kilometers of maritime border. This country has the largest tropical rainforest on the planet. This country has 12% of the world's fresh water. We need to invest in defense,” Lula stated in that speech.
