The President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, dismissed the commander of the Army, Júlio César de Arruda, sources from the Armed Forces informed AFP. It happens thirteen days following the attacks on the headquarters of the three State powers in Brasilia.
Arruda had assumed the position on an interim basis in December, days before the end of the government of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, and was confirmed by the Lula administration that took office on January 1.
He will be replaced by the general Thomas Ribeiro Paiva, who has served as the military commander of the southeast in Sao Paulo since 2021.
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Sources from the presidency informed AFP that Lula, who completed his work schedule in Roraima during the day, will meet with Defense Minister José Múcio in Brasilia this Saturday and will later make the announcement official.
The general Ribeiro Paiva, 62, began his military career in 1975. He participated in the mission of the Brazilian Army in Haiti, and already performed functions in Brasiliawhere he commanded the Presidential Guard Battalion and worked as an assistant in the Presidency during the administration of former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
Ribeiro Paiva drew attention this week when he delivered a speech at a military ceremony in Sao Paulo, saying that the military “will continue to guarantee democracy.”
“It is the regime of the people, of alternation of power. It is the vote. And when we vote, we have to respect the result of the polls,” said the general.
Discrepancy
Júlio César de Arruda had met with Lula on Friday at the Planalto presidential palace, along with the commanders of the armed forces and the Defense Minister.
The commanders did not speak to the media following the first meeting between the military leadership and the president following the January 8 coup, when Thousands of supporters of former President Bolsonaro invaded and looted the headquarters of public powers.
After that meeting, the Minister of Defense, José Múcio, said he did not see a “direct involvement” of the military sector in the revolt, and guaranteed that the commanders agree that the troops whose participation in the acts of vandalism is proven should be punished.
This would be, according to local media, the discrepancy between Arruda and the Head of State.
Lula’s in-depth review
Lula said last week that he was convinced that there was internal complicity in the coup in Brasilia, for which more than 2,000 people were arrested.
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The president passed on his message of distrust in this way and announced that he would carry out a “deep review” of his closest entourage in the presidential palace to favor civilian career officials instead of military ones.
Lula, who narrowly defeated the far-right Bolsonaro in the October presidential elections, this week displaced 53 military personnel who were serving at the Alvorada presidential residence and the Planalto palace.
The relationship with the Armed Forces is one of the biggest immediate challenges facing Lula, according to analysts who highlight the extensive military presence in the administration of Bolsonaro, a former Army captain, as a sign of affinity.
It was precisely in front of the barracks where thousands of Bolsonaristas chose to gather to protest the result of the elections.
Dissatisfied with the victory of the 77-year-old leftist leader, Bolsonaro’s radical followers called for the intervention of the Armed Forces to prevent the inauguration of the president-elect.
Thousands of these sympathizers in Brasilia moved on January 8 towards the Esplanade of the Ministries, which leads to the Plaza of the Three Powers that centers the offices of the Presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court, and invaded and they vandalized the heart of Brazilian democracy.
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