The President of Brazil, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, dismissed the commander of the Army, General Júlio César de Arruda, and appointed General Tomás Ribeiro Paiva, the Brazilian press revealed this Saturday.
The announcement comes a day after Lula da Silva met, in Brasilia, with the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro, and with the commanders of the Army, Navy, Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen, and Air Force, Lieutenant Brigadier of ar Marcelo Kanitz Damascene.
The change also occurs two weeks after the invasion of the headquarters of Congress, the Presidency and the Federal Supreme Court, in Brasilia, by thousands of sympathizers and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who left power on January 1.
The Folha de São Paulo newspaper reports that the decision to dismiss the Army commander was communicated today to General Júlio César de Arruda, who leaves office less than a month after starting his duties.
According to the newspaper, Lula da Silva considers that General Júlio César de Arruda “did not show the will” to act quickly to answer questions about the role of the military in the invasions of January 8.
The newspaper O Globo recalls that Tomás Ribeiro Paiva, now appointed commander of the Army, is 62 years old and has led the Southeast Military Command since 2021, still in the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
On Friday, after the meeting with the military commanders, the Brazilian Defense Minister, José Múcio Monteiro, stated that he does not believe in the “direct participation of the Armed Forces” in the attacks in Brasilia, but that if someone participated, he ” I would respond as a citizen.
“I understand that there was no direct involvement of the Armed Forces. Now, if any element, individually, had their participation, they will respond as a citizen”, said, at the end of the meeting, the Minister of Defense, quoted in the local press.
Source: TSF
