Federal Government transfers command of Abin to Civil House

ABIN command

The change is part of the PT government’s strategy to reformulate the intelligence and security structures inside the Planalto Palace to eliminate the influence of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) transferred the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) to the Civil House. The intelligence agency was commanded by the Institutional Security Office (GSI), the only ministry under the command of a military man, General Gonçalves Dias.

The change was expected. The government’s strategy is to demilitarize Abin, after the failure to anticipate and monitor the invasions of January 8, and reformulate the body in an attempt to “cleanse” the intelligence and institutional security services of the military still faithful to Jair Bolsonaro. Holder of the GSI in the past management, General Augusto Heleno was one of the ministers closest to the former president.

The transfer was made official this Thursday, 2, at Official Diary of the Union (DOU). The text was signed by Lula and the ministers Esther Dweck (Management and Innovation) and Rui Costa (Civil House). Abin was linked to the structure of the GSI since the government Michel Temer (MDB). Lula transferred Abin to the Civil House, a portfolio directly linked to the Presidency of the Republic and commanded by one of the ministers closest to the Chief Executive, Rui Costa (on the left)

As shown the Estadão, the president asked for a profound reformulation of the operating model of the GSI, the body responsible for providing security for the president. The security institution became the most questioned department at the top level of the government, after the failure to protect the Presidency during the acts. At the time, Lula also declared that he had lost confidence in the military. “I simply lost confidence. By the time I regain confidence, I’m back to normality,” he said.

The president was convinced that a wing of Abin was working to “protect” former president Bolsonaro and conspire against him. In this sense, the government began the process of demilitarization. The first step was to remove from the upper chain military posts and intelligence officers. In the same week, more than 155 military personnel were exonerated, being members of both the GSI and the General Secretariat of the Presidency.

Messages released by the organizers of the movement on January 8th show that Abin was headless in the week in which Bolsonaristas prepared the coup acts, called by themselves the “seizure of power”. The agency was without a director general and without new directors for important areas, such as counterintelligence.

* With information from Estadão

Read more:

Government will take care of the people again, says Lula about vaccination campaign

With vacancy open in BC, Lula must appoint a ‘pro-market’ economist

After layoffs, Lula appoints 121 military personnel to positions at the GSI