They decided to break ranks. On Tuesday March 30, the Brazilian defense ministry announced the collective departure of the three main heads of the national army. A first in the history of Brazil, and a new episode in the serious crisis currently opposing Jair Bolsonaro to a growing part of the military elite.
In detail, this thunderous resignation concerns the commander of the navy, Ilques Barbosa, that of aeronautics, Antonio Carlos Bermudez, but first and foremost the powerful chief of the army, General Edson Leal Pujol. It is a direct reaction to the big government reshuffle, announced Monday, March 29.
Jair Bolsonaro then proceeded to change six of his ministers. Among the exits, was that of the defense, Fernando Azevedo e Silva. The announcement of the departure of this respected and influential 4-star general, considered one of the few pragmatic figures of power in Brasilia, has caused the amazement and anger of a large part of the general staff.
The military, who occupy almost half of the portfolios of the government, the vice-presidency and some 6,000 public administration posts in Brasilia, however, seemed well integrated into the power of Bolsonarism. Difficult, at first glance, to understand the exact reasons which provoked the dismissal of Minister Azevedo e Silva and the main army chiefs.
Rumors of a coup
And yet, fire has been smoldering between the military and the presidency for a long time. Isolated and increasingly unpopular, ” the head of state was dissatisfied and wanted the staff to get more involved in publicly supporting him. By pushing everyone towards the exit, he wanted to make a show of force “, decrypts from the World Reserve General Paulo Chagas, former supporter of Jair Bolsonaro.
According to the press, Mr. Bolsonaro, a captain with a mediocre career, would no longer support the condescension, even contempt, of the “great generals”, some of whom now openly criticize his policy in the face of Covid-19. At the beginning of March, the head of state would also have strongly criticized the head of the army, Edson Pujol, for his failure to take a public position to oppose the judicial decision that allowed the former left-wing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to recover his political rights.
But beyond that, it is difficult to know exactly what Jair Bolsonaro wanted to demand from “his” army. In recent hours, many senior officers have spread – anonymously – in the press, evoking a ” adventure », A coup, or even an attempted coup d’etat, considered for a time by the president, against the advice of the military. In an opening statement, the Minister of Defense, Azevedo e Silva, contented himself with highlighting his efforts to “Preserve the army as a state institution”.
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