The President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvadismissed this Saturday the commander of the Army, General Julio Cesar de Arrudatwo weeks after the attempted coup perpetrated by radical Bolsonarists in Brasilia, Defense Minister José Múcio reported.
“Relations, mainly with the Army, suffered a fracture in the level of trust. For this reason, we thought it was necessary to put a stop to this soon in order to overcome this episode,” Múcio told reporters in Brasilia.
The change in command of the Army occurs in the middle of the climate of mistrust between the progressive president and sectors of the Armed Forces since the assault on the offices of the Presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court on January 8.
The cessation also comes one day after the meeting that Lula had with Arruda and the commanders of the Navy and Aeronautics to discuss investments and plans to modernize the three forces.
As Múcio pointed out, the decision was communicated this Saturday to Arruda, who leaves office before completing his first month in it. According to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, Lula made this decision because Arruda “did not show willingness” to take “immediate” measures to appease their doubts about the actions of some soldiers in the attempted coup two weeks ago.
His replacement will be the general Tomas Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, who this week, in a military ceremony, made a strong statement in defense of the democratic order and the result of the October elections, in which Lula defeated Bolsonaro, who still has not recognized his defeat at the polls. Paiva appeared this Saturday with Múcio, although he did not give any statement.
Lula, who assumed power on January 1, has stated on various occasions their doubts about the role of the Armed Forces in relation to the invasion and the serious damage caused to the headquarters of the three powers by violent groups of the extreme right.
Last week, at a breakfast with journalists, he assured that there were “many soldiers and police officers” who were “colluding” with the attempted coup and that he is “convinced” that someone inside the Planalto presidential palace “facilitated” the entry of the radicals.
On Wednesday, in an interview with GloboNews, he once again hinted at that distrust of the criticize the intelligence agencies “of the Army, the Police and the Navy” for not notifying him that radical Bolsonarists were organizing for the assault on Brasilia.
Arruda took over as interim commander of the Army on December 30, when the now former president was still in power Jair Bolsonaroand continued in office with the Lula government, until his sudden dismissal, announced on January 21.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
