GSI military increases list of exonerated

The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) expanded the list of military personnel released from the security functions of the Presidency of the Republic. This Wednesday’s Official Gazette (18) published the dismissal of 14 members of the Armed Forces who were working in the Institutional Security Office. The GSI is responsible for the security of the president and vice president, as well as the Planalto Palace and official residences.

On Tuesday, another 56 soldiers had already been discharged, with 45 taking care of security at the Alvorada Palace and Granja do Torto. On Wednesday, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Max Steinert, who held the position of military advisor in the General Secretariat of the Presidency, was also exonerated. In addition to him, 13 other military personnel from the three Forces were exempted from working in the GSI.

The removal of these soldiers occurs in a context of “loss of confidence” in part of the military publicly assumed by President Lula. “I simply lost confidence. When I regain confidence, I return to normality,” admitted Lula to Estadão, when asked about whether he felt threatened. Until the end of this week, Lula will have a meeting with the commanders of the Three Forces. In the conversation, he is expected to talk about the acts of vandalism that took place on January 8 in Brasília and insist again that the Armed Forces should not be partisan, as occurred in the administration of Jair Bolsonaro.

On Tuesday, the Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, said that the dismissals reached positions of “extreme trust” and warned that other dismissals are to come. According to him, most will take place from the 23rd of January.