Army faces risk of attrition over Cid promotion – 10/13/2023 – Power

The Aman (Agulhas Negras Military Academy) class of 2000 is the next to enter the cycle of promotions to colonel, in 2024, and lieutenant colonel Mauro Cid would, due to his history in the Armed Forces, be among the first places in the race for third star on a golden background.

The suspicions that weigh against Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) former aide-de-camp, however, will bring about a circumstance seen as unprecedented by the Army, which is already causing discussions in an attempt to avoid further strain involving military personnel.

On the one hand, interlocutors of the Force commander, General Tomás Paiva, believe that he must seek some way to secure the promotion of Cid, who signed a plea bargain agreement with the Federal Police amid a series of investigations during the period in which he was Bolsonaro’s right-hand man — as in the cases of jewelry, scams and vaccination card fraud.

On the other hand, generals heard by the Sheet They say that Cid could not be sub judice and have his promotion frozen because he is not a defendant.

The promotions are scheduled for April, August and December 2024. Cid’s colleagues interviewed by the report see the possibility of the former adjutant being able to progress in his career at the first opportunity, as he is considered the head of the group.

Crowned with 1st place in the master’s degree from ESAO (Escola Superior de Aperfeiçoamento de Oficiais), an award that is displayed on a medal on Cid’s uniform, the lieutenant colonel must face resistance while being targeted by the PF, even with the plea bargain agreement .

Any decision on the matter, however, will only be taken on the eve of the end of the promotion process, with the expectation that the Federal Police have already completed the investigation and the Public Prosecutor’s Office has offered a report on the cases involving Cid.

The law that defines the criteria and processes for the promotion of Armed Forces officers dates back to 1972, a period of hardening of the military dictatorship, sanctioned by General Emílio Garrastazu Médici.

The decree that regulates promotions dates back to 2001, a period in which then-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB) took harsh measures to restrict budgets and military benefits.

According to Army regulations, promotions are reviewed by the Officer Promotions Committee. The group is made up of 18 generals and chaired by the Army Chief of Staff.

The collegiate analyzes at least nine basic criteria, such as academic performance, performance in the positions held and management and leadership capacity.

Military personnel who become defendants in criminal cases are sub judice and have their careers frozen pending trial.

In the case of Cid, who is a whistleblower but was not even indicted, the Officer Promotions Commission may allege other reasons to determine that the soldier is not qualified to compete for career progression.

One of the possible decisions is to exclude Cid from competing for the position of colonel on the grounds that he is “incapable of meeting” the requirements established as “professional concept and moral concept”. The final decision rests with the Force Commander.

In this case, the soldier would be submitted to a Justification Council that will judge whether he is worthy of belonging to the Force — with the possibility of expulsion from the Army.

The military leadership, however, awaits an eventual conviction of Mauro Cid to install the Justification Council or see the soldier expelled from the corporation by the STM (Superior Military Court).

The resolution of the impasse is studied by generals close to the Army commander. On the other hand, three of Cid’s colleagues told the Sheet that a possible veto on the lieutenant colonel’s promotion would be a political decision that would increase the military’s resistance to the actions of the Force’s leadership.

“The Army Social Communication Center informs that, for promotion purposes, Lieutenant-Colonel Mauro César Barbosa Cid meets the conditions set out in Art. 35, of Law 5,821, of November 10, 1972. The Promotions Commission is still did not begin the analysis for the promotion process of the aforementioned training class”, said the Army, in a statement, highlighting the article that defines when a soldier is prohibited from competing for promotion.

The report was unable to contact Mauro Cid.

Such as Sheet showed in January, in a profile about Cid, the lieutenant colonel received from General Tomás Paiva himself, in 2018, the notice that he had been selected to head the orderly assistance of the newly elected president Jair Bolsonaro.

At the time, Tomás was chief of staff to commander Villas Bôas, who had chosen Cid for the position because his father, reserve general Mauro Cesar Lourena Cid, had been a close friend of Bolsonaro since they were both cadets in the 1977 class at the Aman.

Four years and two months later, Tomás called Cid again, now the head of the Army, to warn that the soldier would no longer take over the 1st BAC (Command Action Battalion), in Goiânia (GO), by decision of President Lula (PT) and the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro.

The Goiás battalion is the main one of the Special Forces, the Army’s elite troop, and taking on the sought-after position of leadership of the 1st BAC is a sign that the path to generalship has been paved.

Cid, however, began to respond to a series of legal actions for his work alongside Bolsonaro.

He is being investigated for participating in the organization of a live broadcast in which the former president made attacks against the electoral system; due to suspicions involving the management of presidential family resources; for the sale of state jewelry, received by Bolsonaro, after the end of his presidential term; and for falsifying vaccination cards to enter the United States.

Mauro Cid was imprisoned for more than four months until he was released, by decision of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), after the soldier reached a plea agreement with the Federal Police.

He must comply with a series of restrictive measures, such as avoiding contact with other people under investigation, wearing an electronic ankle bracelet and appearing weekly at the Federal District Criminal Execution Court.

With the plea, investigators intend to advance the investigation into the sale of the jewelry and the coup plans discussed between Bolsonaro, the military and allies.