Brazil’s president , Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, dismissed General Júlio César de Arruda from his position as Army commander this Saturday. His position will be filled by the current military chief of the Southeast Command, General Tomás Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, who had commanded the region since 2021, local media reports.
General Arruda provisionally assumed command of the Army on December 30 of last year, still under the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
According to the agreement between Lula’s transition team and the previous administration, the change of command had to take place before the new government assumed the reins of the country. Arruda was confirmed in office by Defense Minister José Múcio Monteiro on January 6.
However, two days later, a group of radical Bolsonaristas invaded and vandalized Congress, the Planalto Palace, and the Federal Supreme Court in the capital city of Brasilia. From the scene, acts of vandalism and robberies were also reported.
After more than a week of the Bolsonaro takeover, Lula declared last Wednesday that the intelligence services of the Armed Forces and the Brazilian Intelligence Agency had failed to warn about possible coup attacks.
