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Brazil’s Bolsonaro names three new military chiefs
BRASILIA, April 1, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on
Wednesday appointed new army, navy and air force chiefs one day after
announcing their predecessors’ departures, as the far-right leader weathers
the biggest crisis of his administration.
The new defense minister, General Walter Braga Netto, presented Army
General Paulo Sergio Nogueira de Oliveira, Navy Admiral Almir Garnier and Air
Force commander Brigadier Carlos Almeida Baptista Jr at a brief ceremony.
Braga Netto said the trio would all be “faithful to their constitutional
missions of defending the homeland, guaranteeing constitutional powers and
guaranteeing democratic freedoms.”
Bolsonaro has overhauled his government in the face of mounting criticism
for an explosion of Covid-19 deaths, replacing his foreign, defense and
justice ministers, along with his chief of staff, the attorney general and
the military’s top brass.
Last week, he also installed his fourth health minister of the pandemic.
Bolsonaro, who comes up for re-election in October 2022, faces sliding
popularity and growing pressure over his handling of the pandemic, including
from key allies in Congress and the business world.
On Wednesday, the country ended its deadliest month of the coronavirus
crisis with more than 66,570 deaths — more than double the previous record.
The new military commanders are replacing Army General Edson Pujol, Navy
Admiral Ilques Barbosa and Air Force Lieutenant-Brigadier Antonio Carlos
Bermudes.
No reason was given for their departure, but analysts say the three chiefs
were dismayed by Bolsonaro’s surprise dismissal of former defense minister
Fernando Azevedo.
Azevedo himself resigned because he was “uncomfortable with Bolsonaro’s
use of the military for political ends,” journalist Merval Pereira wrote in
newspaper Globo.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain, frequently boasts of having the
military’s backing, and has packed his government with officers.
He is openly nostalgic for Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship,
despite its rights violations, including the kidnapping and torture of
dissidents.
The armed forces have since carefully rebuilt an apolitical image of
national service.
But Bolsonaro’s hardline base has put that to the test with calls to
reinstall military rule with him at the top — talk the president is accused
of fanning.
Braga Netto said Tuesday the military dictatorship which took power on
March 31, 1964, was something to be “celebrated.”
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0755 hrs