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In addition to the ministerial revolt, President Jair Bolsonaro is questioned about the complete change of the military leadership. The Government, however, affirms that these are normal processes that allow the maintenance of democracy.
The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, appointed the three new commanders of the Armed Forces this Wednesday, after completing the change, determined the day before, of the heads of the Army, Air Force and Navy, as announced by the new Defense Minister , General Walter Braga Netto. The president’s political crisis is getting deeper due to his terrible management during the pandemic. These are some of the keys to the case.
Ministerial earthquake
The Government of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro continued on Tuesday with the purge that began with the change of six ministers and announced the “replacement” of the heads of the three Armed Forces, which are one of the pillars of his administration. The day before, in a movement not yet officially explained and about which Bolsonaro is absolutely silent until now, changes were announced in six of the 23 ministries, which represents almost a quarter, and which included the Defense portfolio, until then. in the hands of General Fernando Azevedo e Silva.
The departure of the general, which has not been clarified if it was due to resignation or dismissal, generated a growing wave of rumors that spoke of the imminent resignation of the heads of the Army, Aviation and Navy, in a gesture of “solidarity” with Azevedo e Silva.
Can read: Brazilian opposition denounces an “attempted coup” by Bolsonaro
Ministry of defense under magnifying glass
This Tuesday the new leadership of the Armed Forces was met, a day after dismissing the head of Defense. The replacement of General Edson Pujol (Army), Admiral Ilqes Barbosa (Navy) and Brigadier Antonio Carlos Bermudes (Aeronautics) was decided in a meeting in Brasilia “with the presence of the Minister of Defense, Braga Netto, and the former minister, Fernando Azevedo e Silva ”, the portfolio announced in a statement.
The Defense Ministry did not report the reasons for the decision, unprecedented in the history of Brazil. Analysts estimate that it is due to the dissatisfaction of the three commanders with the dismissal of General Fernando Azevedo e Silva as head of the portfolio, reluctant to Bolsanaro’s attempts to politicize the Armed Forces.
The already ex-minister said when announcing his departure that during his tenure he managed to preserve “the Armed Forces as State institutions.” The minister-general “was uncomfortable with the need to formally support the attitudes of President Bolsonaro when he used the Army for his political activities,” columnist Merval Pereira wrote in the newspaper O Globo.
The new leadership takes office
In a ceremony held in the capital Brasilia, Braga Netto made official the names of General Paulo Sergio Nogueira de Oliveira as Army Commander, Lieutenant-General Carlos Baptista Júnior to lead the Air Force and Admiral Almir Garnier for the highest position in the Navy.
The changes, for the first time jointly in the three military institutions, gave continuity to the movement in the upper echelon of the Government announced on Monday by Bolsonaro with six changes in his Cabinet. The expected departure of then-Chancellor Ernesto Araújo, pressured by members of his allied base and the opposition, was joined by the surprise of General Fernando Azevedo e Silva, who occupied the Ministry of Defense.
Can read: Who is Walter Souza Braga, the new Defense Minister of Brazil?
In a quick statement during the ceremony, Braga Netto, who left the Ministry of Civil House (Presidency), avoided commenting on the reasons for the changes in command of the Armed Forces and called for unity to combat the covid-19 pandemic, which leaves more than 317,000 dead and 12.6 million confirmed cases in thirteen months.
“The greatest patrimony of a nation is the guarantee of democracy and the freedom of its people. The military were not lacking in the past and they will not be lacking as long as the country needs them, ”said the general, who praised the 57 years, celebrated this Wednesday, of the coup that established a military dictatorship between 1964 and 1985.
Institutional crisis?
Vice President Hamilton Mourao, an Army general, ruled out that there is a risk of institutional breakdown in Brazil. “Zero, you can put whoever you want, there is no institutional breakdown. The Armed Forces are going to be with the legality, always, ”he said in statements to the G1 portal.
According to the official, the changes in Defense are part of the reform launched Monday by Bolsonaro, who faces increasing pressure from his allies in Congress, who are calling for changes of course amid his questioned management of a pandemic that has already killed more than 313,000 people in the country, with a weekly average of more than 2,600 deaths, almost four times the number at the beginning of the year.
In addition, the president is losing popularity in polls, as economic conditions worsen, vaccination progresses more slowly than expected and hospitals are on the brink of collapse.
