New gun club opens every day in Jair Bolsonaro’s Brazil as weapons become key election issue
It is a quiet street in a fairly tough part of Sao Paulo, but the sound of high velocity weapons firing and the thud of rounds impacting every few seconds is somewhat disconcerting.
We ring the doorbell of an innocuous-looking building; after a few minutes the thick metal door opens, and we are greeted by a man wearing a smart black jacket over body armour.
He motions us inside and the door shuts. In front of us, another metal door slides open and the sound of shooting greets us through a cloud of barbecue-smelling smoke.
This is the G-16 gun club and it’s open 24 hours a day. It’s lunchtime and the BBQ, included in the membership fee, is on outside.
In the Brazil of President Jair Bolsonaro, gun clubs have been opening at the astonishing rate of one a day for the past four years.
The atmosphere is friendly but businesslike. At desks people fill out their forms for gun licences. Milling about, with pistols in holsters and dressed in military gear, the members and trainers prepare for the firing ranges dotted about the building.
Machine guns line the walls and handguns sit on display cabinets.
A young woman explains that people with licences can buy and take away the handguns, but they have to order the assault rifles.
“Or you can borrow them while you’re here and use them on the range,” she adds with a beaming smile.
Private gun ownership has rocketed under the right-wing government of Mr Bolsonaro.
He and his supporters contest that bearing arms is a fundamental right, although, unlike the United States, this isn’t actually mentioned in Brazil’s constitution.
‘Bolsonaro is a gun enthusiast’
The burly owner of the G-16 club, Gustavo Pazzini, is proud of how much his business has grown in the past few years. He started with one club, and he now has four with 12,000 members.
He is an unabashed Bolsonaro supporter – the president’s picture hangs in the club’s foyer.
“Bolsonaro is a gun enthusiast, a military man, a pro-freedom politician, and he managed to make some changes, and this has generally heated up the market, and it has rekindled the dreams of Brazilians who are gun enthusiasts and like guns.”
It’s a big booming growth sector and is another key issue in this desperately tight election battle.
Brazilians will head to the polls next Sunday for a second round vote after both Mr Bolsonaro and his rival Lula da Silva failed to secure enough votes for an outright win.
The highly polarised vote will determine whether the country returns a leftist to the helm of the world’s fourth-biggest democracy or keeps the far-right leader in office for another four years.
In what is arguably the country’s most critical election since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985, Mr da Silva of the leftist Workers’ Party won 48.26% of votes and Mr Bolsonaro secured 43.34%.
The owner of the G-16 club, Gustavo Pazzini
Threat of election-linked violence
An hour or so outside Sao Paulo, we pulled off the main road and drove towards a series of port-a-cabins on the edge of a big open space.
Even in our car the sound of machine gun fire, pump action shotguns and revolvers was really loud.
This is the Assault shooting range, a sort-of country club for amateur gun users and a training ground for police and more serious gun club enthusiasts dressed in matching uniforms, keen to learn battlefield craft like the military.
There is fear that Bolsonaro-supporting groups will fashion themselves on America’s Trump-supporting gun carriers.
That fear has been highlighted by the closeness of the election and the threat of election-linked violence.
But a day out at the Assault shooting range is also something of a family affair.
The Stopa family together on the shooting range
‘I think it’s cool’
All the generations of the Stopa family are on the range with a variety of weapons and an instructor showing them how to use them all.
Eighteen-year-old Georgia is firing a weapon for the first time today.
“I think it’s so cool, I’m very happy,” she told us excitedly after firing the shotgun.
Her proud mum took pictures the whole time.
Their instructor is deadly serious but there are laughs and smiles throughout the lesson.
The Assault club’s owner, a former police officer, has no doubts that anything but a Bolsonaro win will be bad for him and his business.
President Bolsonaro has used executive powers to relax the country’s previously stringent gun laws imposed by his electoral adversary Mr da Silva.
“People worry about Lula’s return to government, of course, if his first attitude is to disarm the population. The more insecure, the more disarmed and the more illiterate the population is, the better it is for them,” the club owner explained to me.
On our way back from Assault, we stopped off at one of the country’s biggest gun shops.
ISA comes complete with an upscale café restaurant and is pristine inside, with mood lighting and glass cabinets full of gleaming weapons of every description.
Clovis Aguiar shows off weapons he has imported
This is a very successful business, and it has blossomed under Mr Bolsonaro.
The gun shop’s owner told us he clears £1.7m every month.
Clovis Aguiar showed Jorge Seif, a Bolsonaro-supporting senator who is a big player in politics here, weapons he has imported from his factory in Israel.
I asked the senator if he would like one of the weapons – yes, he enthusiastically replied, laughing.
Senator Jorge Seif is confident of election victory
Mr Seif is confident that Mr Bolsonaro will win, and says if he does, and they control the senate, they will change the gun laws permanently.
“When a socialist government, a dictator government, an oppressive government comes to power, their first action is to disarm the population,” he said, referring to Lula da Silva’s Worker’s Party.
“But President Bolsonaro shows his commitment to the Brazilian people, right? Above all he respects democracy because he trusts his population when he gives them the right to buy firearms.”
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Mr da Silva and his supporters say that having more guns in a country that already has a terrible record for crime is at best reckless.
Mr Bolsonaro’s followers disagree, arguing guns allow people to protect themselves.
Like so many things in this election, they will never agree.
Canadians “weren’t impressed” by the decision of the UK government to offer Donald Trump an unprecedented second state visit to the UK, the country’s prime minister has told Sky News.
Sir Keir Starmer handed the invitation to the US president during a visit to the Oval Office.
The newly elected Liberal leader Mark Carney said that the invitation “cut across clear messages” that the Canadian government was trying to send to the White House in response to their threats against Canada’s sovereignty.
“I think, to be frank, they [Canadians] weren’t impressed by that gesture… given the circumstance. It was at a time when we were being quite clear about the issues around sovereignty.”
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Mark Carney speaking to Sky News’ Sam Washington
It comes as the Canadian prime minister has invited the King, who is Canada’s head of state, to open its parliament later this month in a “clear message of sovereignty”.
It is the first time the sovereign has carried out this function in nearly 50 years and Mr Carney says it’s “not coincidental”.
“All issues around Canada’s sovereignty have been accentuated by the president. So no, it’s not coincidental, but it is also a reaffirming moment for Canadians.”
The former Bank of England governor was re-elected after a campaign fought on the promise of standing up to American threats to Canadian statehood. He had refused to speak to Mr Trump until Canadian sovereignty was respected.
It followed Mr Trump threatening to make Canada the 51st state of the US.
Mr Carney justified making his first trip after winning re-election to the White House by stating Mr Trump had changed his intentions to annex Canada from an “expectation to a desire”.
“He was expressing a desire. He’d shifted from the expectation to a desire. He was also coming from a place where he recognised that that wasn’t going to happen.
“Does he still muse about it? Perhaps. Is it ever going to happen? No. Never.”
The high-stakes meeting in the Oval Office was not confrontational, with Mr Carney praising the president’s approach as “very on top of the essence of a wide range of issues” and “able to identify the points of maximum leverage, both in a specific situation but also in a geopolitical situation”.
A King’s tension between allies
Fractured geopolitical relations have produced an interesting phenomenon: two Commonwealth nations both deploying their head of state, King Charles, to manage the vagaries of Donald Trump.
For Canada, and its new prime minister, Mark Carney, the King is being unveiled at the opening of Parliament in Ottawa later this month as an unequivocal spectacle and symbol of sovereignty.
For the UK, Sir Keir Starmer is positioning the monarch as a bridge and has proffered a personal invitation from King Charles to the president for an unprecedented second state visit in order to facilitate negotiations over trade and tariffs.
This instrumentalisation of the crown, which ordinarily transcends politics, has created tension between the historically close allies.
Canadians view the UK’s red carpet treatment of a leader who is openly threatening their sovereignty as a violation of Commonwealth solidarity, while the British seem to have no compunction in engaging in high-level realpolitik.
The episode is emblematic of how pervasive disruptive American influence is and how extreme measures taken to combat it can aggravate even the most enduring alliances.
Since the meeting, tensions between the two countries have abated.
Further negotiations on trade and security are expected soon.
Given the deep economic integration of the two nations, neither side expects a deal imminently, but both sides concur that constructive talks have led to progress on an agreement.
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With greater goodwill between the two North American neighbours, Mr Carney also expressed optimism about Mr Trump’s efforts to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia.
The prime minister confirmed his view that the president was an “honest broker” and that his counterpart had been “helpful” in bringing momentum to a 30-day ceasefire between the warring nations.
Despite a reset in relations between the United States and Canada, Mr Carney remained circumspect.
His motto is: “Always plan for the worst.”
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And to that end, nothing is being taken for granted: “We do plan for having no deal, we do plan for trouble in the security relationship. We do plan for the global trading system not being reassembled: that’s the way to approach this president.”
World
‘Sixteen killed’ in strike on Gaza hospital as Israel says it hit ‘Hamas command centre below’
At least 16 people have been killed and 70 others were injured at a hospital in Gaza following an Israeli strike, according to the health ministry.
Nine missiles hit the European Hospital and its courtyard in the south of the Palestinian territory, officials said.
Israel said it had hit a “Hamas command centre” beneath the hospital in Khan Younis.
Hamas denies exploiting hospitals and civilian properties for military purposes.
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The scene after the European Hospital was partially damaged following Israeli airstrikes. Pic: Reuters
Earlier, a well-known Palestinian photojournalist died following a separate attack on the Nasser Hospital, also in Khan Younis, said the ministry.
Hassan Aslih had been accused by Israel of working with Hamas and was recovering from an earlier airstrike.
Aslih, who has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, was said by the Israelis to have recorded and uploaded footage of “looting, arson and murder” during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack into Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Aslih was one of two patients who died in Tuesday’s strike on Nasser Hospital, said the health ministry. Several others were wounded.
Mourners carry the body of Palestinian journalist Hassan Aslih. Pic: Reuters
Dozens of people were being treated on the third floor of the hospital building, where the missiles struck, Reuters said, quoting Ahmed Siyyam, a member of Gaza’s emergency services.
The Israeli military said it “eliminated significant Hamas terrorists” in Nasser Hospital, among them Aslih, who it said had “operated under the guise of a journalist”.
Footage showed heavy damage to one of the hospital buildings, including to medical equipment and beds inside.
At least 160 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the International Federation of Journalists.
Gazan officials accuse Israel of deliberately targeting journalists. Israel denies this and says it tries to avoid harm to civilians.
Aslih, who headed the Alam24 news outlet and had previously worked with Western news outlets, was recovering after being wounded last month in a deadly strike on a tent in the Nasser Hospital compound.
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Meanwhile, President Trump has spoken on the phone to Edan Alexander after he was released by Hamas on Monday, as part of ongoing efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire with Israel.
The 21-year-old was believed to be the last living American hostage in Gaza.
Some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the 7 October attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s response has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and destroyed much of the coastal territory. Gaza’s health ministry records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
An aid blockade since March has left the population at critical risk of famine, according to the World Health Organisation, which warned on Tuesday that hunger and malnutrition could have a lasting impact on “an entire generation”.
Donald Trump has said the US will lift long-standing sanctions on Syria and signed a $600bn (£450bn) deal with Saudi Arabia as he visited the nation as part of a tour of the Middle East.
The US president revealed the US plans to lift sanctions on Syria following talks with Saudi Arabia‘s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mr Trump was speaking at the US-Saudi investment conference during a four-day trip to the region.
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The comments follow Air Force One being escorted by Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s as it approached the kingdom’s capital, with Mr Trump welcomed by the crown prince, Saudi’s de facto ruler, as he stepped off the plane.
President Trump said the relationship between the were nations were “stronger and more powerful than ever before”, adding it would “remain that way”.
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How Trump’s Saudi visit unfolded
‘Largest defence cooperation agreement’
Mr Trump and Prince Mohammed signed several agreements aimed at increasing cooperation between their governments, including a commitment to $600bn in new Saudi investment in the US – though Mr Trump said a trillion dollars (£750bn) would be even better.
The US also agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142bn (£107bn), which the White House called “the largest defence cooperation agreement” Washington has ever done.
Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provide an honorary escort for Air Force One. Pic: AP
In his speech, President Trump also urged Iran to take a “new and a much better path” and make a new nuclear deal with the US.
Speaking at the conference, Mr Trump said he wants to avoid a conflict with Iran but warned of “maximum pressure” if his olive branch was rejected.
Pic: AP
“As I have shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world, even if our differences may be profound,” he said.
“If Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch… we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero.”
He added: “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. But with that said, Iran can have a much brighter future, but we’ll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack. The choice is theirs to make.”
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Pic: Reuters
Normalising relations with Syria
Mr Trump said he would ease US sanctions on Syria and move to normalise relations with its new government ahead of a meeting with its new leader Ahmad al Sharaa on Wednesday.
The Syrian president was formerly an insurgent who led the overthrow of former leader Bashar al Assad last year.
Mr Trump said he wants to give the country “a chance at peace” and added: “There is a new government that will hopefully succeed. I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”
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The US leader also said he hoped Saudi Arabia would soon join the Abraham Accords and recognise Israel “in your own time”.
Saudi Arabia has argued its recognition of Israel would be tied to the establishment of a Palestinian state along the lines of Israel’s 1967 borders.
Mr Trump will travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over the next three days.
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