Brazil: Lula fires army commander two weeks after riots

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is convinced that the soldiers supported or even helped the rioters seize power in the capital on January 8. So he gets angry. He began by driving at least 40 soldiers out of the presidential residence. And the purge carried out in the army continues. Lula sacked army chief Julio César de Arruda this Saturday, two weeks after the attacks on Brazil’s power centers, several local media reported.

Julio Cesar de Arruda temporarily took over this function from December 30, two days before the end of the term of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, and was confirmed there in early January by Lula’s new administration. According to GloboNews, he will be replaced by the commander of the southeastern troops, Thomas Ribeiro Paiva. Tomas Ribeiro Paiva said in a public speech on Wednesday that the army will continue to “guarantee democracy.” “This is the regime of the people, the alternation of power. This is a vote. And when we vote, we must respect the results of the polls,” he said, according to a video posted on the G1 news site.

No “direct military involvement”

Julio Cesar de Arruda on Friday participated in Lula’s first meeting with the military leaders, after which neither of them made a statement. However, the military leaders “agree” with the imposition of sanctions against military personnel involved in the unrest, Defense Minister José Musio said at the end of this meeting, stressing, however, that the participants in the meeting did not mention the unrest.

The minister also claimed that there was no “direct involvement” of the army in the riots in Brasilia. Relations with the military are one of Lula’s biggest immediate concerns, according to analysts who point to a significant military presence in the previous administration.

The leftist leader began a “deep overhaul” of the military apparatus serving the executive branch after he expressed his lack of confidence in some of the members responsible for his security. In total, 53 of them were fired this week, thirteen of whom were part of the Cabinet of Institutional Security (CIS), the state body responsible for assisting the head of state in his national security and defense policy. More than 4,000 supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro wreaked havoc in Brasilia on January 8, storming and sacking the presidential palace, the Congress and the Supreme Court.