Brazil:
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has sacked the country’s army chief Julio Cesar de Arruda in the wake of riots earlier this month by supporters of former leader Jair Bolsonaro, military sources told AFP on Saturday.
Arruda had only taken office on December 30, two days before the end of Bolsonaro’s mandate, and was confirmed by Lula’s government in early January.
He will be replaced by the commander of the Southeastern Army, Tomas Ribeiro Paiva, GloboNews reported.
Arruda had taken part in Lula’s first meeting with his military chief on Friday. Neither of them made a statement at the end of those talks.
The move comes days after Lula removed several dozen soldiers from his security detail following the unrest.
On January 8, Bolsonaro supporters looted the presidential palace, Supreme Court and Congress in Brasilia, breaking windows and furniture, vandalizing valuable works of art and leaving graffiti messages calling for a military coup.
Lula has said he suspects security forces may have been involved in the riots, in which more than 2,000 people were arrested. The left-wing president announced a “deep review” of his immediate environment.
Defense Minister Jose Mucio said after Friday’s meeting with Lula and the military leaders that there was “no direct involvement of the armed forces”, but added “if any element took part, they will have to answer as civilians”.
The relationship with the armed forces will be one of Lula’s biggest immediate challenges, analysts say, pointing to a significant military presence in Bolsonaro’s government.
Paiva vowed on Wednesday that the army will “continue to guarantee democracy” and suggested accepting the results of the election in which Lula defeated Bolsonaro.
“When we vote, we have to respect the results of the polls,” he said in a speech, excerpts of which were shown on the G1 news website.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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