Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s decision to send combat vehicles to the streets of the capital for a military parade has been condemned by his opponents.

Opposition lawmakers from left and right condemned the spectacle. 

The head of a congressional probe into the disastrous mishandling of the coronavirus that has killed over half a million Brazilians agreed with others who say Bolsonaro is trying to portray an image of power at a time when his popularity is plunging. 

Omar Aziz says “Bolsonaro thinks this shows strength, but it’s actually just evidence of the fragility of a president who is cornered by corruption investigations … and the administrative incompetence that has caused death, hunger and unemployment in the midst of an uncontrolled pandemic.”