The relationship with the armed forces is one of the greatest immediate challenges of the president, according to analysts who underline the important presence of the military within the previous administration.
Mo12345lemonde with AFP
The Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, dismissed the chief of staff of the Army, Julio César de Arruda, two weeks after the riots of Brasilia, where several thousand supporters of the Former Head of State Jair Bolsonaro sowed chaos on January 8.
Julio César de Arruda has assumed this acting function since December 30, two days before the end of the mandate of far right Jair Bolsonaro, and was confirmed there in early January after the transfer of power. It will be replaced by the Southeast Military Commander, Tomas Ribeiro Paiva, say the armed forces on their website.
Tomas Ribeiro Paiva said Wednesday, in a public speech, that the army would continue to “guarantee democracy”. “It is the regime of the people, from alternation to power. It is the vote. And when we vot, we must respect the result of the ballot boxes,” he said, according to a video published by the site of Information G1.
No direct army involvement
Julio César de Arruda participated on Friday in Lula’s first meeting with members of the staff. The latter “accept” that sanctions be taken against members of the armed forces involved in the riots, said the Minister of Defense, José Mucio, after this meeting, while stressing that the riots did not have been mentioned strictly speaking. He had also assured that there had been no “direct involvement” of the army.
The relationship with the armed forces is one of Lula’s largest challenges, according to analysts, who underline the important presence of soldiers within the previous administration. The Head of State began a “profound revision” of the military apparatus after having expressed his distrust of certain officials of his security.