Brazil’s left-wing President Lula da Silva has signed a decree imposing restrictions on gun ownership, reversing his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro’s policy of encouraging citizens to own firearms in the crime-ridden country.
“We will continue to fight for fewer weapons in our country. Only the police and the army must be well-armed,” President Lula said. He argued that the government “cannot allow gun arsenals to be in the people’s hands.”
Friday’s presidential decree is a part of a move by the Socialist Lula to undo the legacy of President Bolsonaro. According to a 2022 report, over a million Brazilians own guns. This is three times higher than the number of legal gun owners before Bolsonaro came to power in 2019.
The Associated Press reported:
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree Friday tightening restrictions on civilian access to guns in Brazil, in a move aimed at reversing the pro-firearms policies of his right-wing predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.The decree reduces the number of guns civilians can possess for personal safety from four to two, reduces the allowed ammunition for each gun from 200 rounds to 50 and requires documentation proving the need to hold the weapons.It also bars civilians from owning 9 mm pistols, restricting them to members of the police and military.“It’s one thing for the regular citizen to have a gun at home for his protection, as a guarantee, because some people think this is safety. Let them have it. But we cannot allow gun arsenals to be in the people’s hands,” Lula said Friday during a signing ceremony.During Bolsonaro’s presidency from 2019 through 2022, the former president had said “good citizens” should be entitled to protect their families and their assets, and loosened rules on the possession of guns and ammunition. Though Brazil has no constitutional right to bear arms, Bolsonaro argued that “an armed populace will never be enslaved.”
The government’s “intention is to control the amount of weaponry and ammunition accessible to civilians and limit the procurement of firearms by hunters, shooters, and collectors,” the newspaper Rio Times reported Saturday.
A similar trend is being seen in the Western countries as well. Germany, which already has one of the Europe’s strictest gun laws, wants to further restrict gun ownership as the country reels under surging migrant crime.
Lula, who took office last year after narrowly winning the election, is a darling of the American left. Former U.S. President Barack Obama once hailed Lula as “the most popular president on Earth.” President Joe Biden, who continues to snub Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, a key U.S. ally, welcomed the Brazilian leader in the White House with open arms.
Socialist Lula has been one of the leading political backers of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez and Cuba’s long-time communist tyrant Fidel Castro.
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