Lula government exonerates five more military personnel who worked in the Planalto – 01/23/2023 – Politics

The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) exonerated five more military personnel who work at the Planalto Palace, four of whom worked in the vice-presidency and another in the personal office of the presidency.

The new exonerations were published this Monday (23) in the Official Gazette. They extend the sequence of dismissals of military personnel that began in the current government, but were intensified after the coup act of January 8.

This Monday, a lieutenant who exercised the role of military technical advisor in assisting orders from the personal office of the President of the Republic was dismissed.

The other four all served in the vice-presidency of the Republic. Three of them were from the military advisory in the vice president’s office and another from the administration and finance department.

Just last week, 84 military personnel were dismissed from posts in the Planalto, 38 of which were from the Institutional Security Office – responsible for the security of the Planalto Palace and the presidency. The others work in the administrative part or in the official residence department, which takes care of the Palácio da Alvorada, not linked to the ministry.

The mistrust of Lula’s team with the military dates back to the work of the transitional cabinet, when it was decided that the president’s personal security would no longer be the responsibility of the GSI and would be transferred to the Federal Police.

The exonerations were intensified after the act of January 8, when supporters of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) promoted a coup act, advancing on the security forces and invading the Planalto Palace, the National Congress and the Federal Supreme Court.

After the coup attacks, the president expressed his distrust on several occasions. In an interview with GloboNews, he stated that the federal government’s intelligence “did not exist” on the eve of the act.

In addition to the head of the GSI, General Gonçalves Dias, pressure increased on the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro, due to suspicions that the Armed Forces did not act to prevent the vandalism of the palace, in addition to being lenient with the coup camps, in front of the headquarters.

On Saturday (21), Lula dismissed the commander of the Army, General Júlio Cesar de Arruda, in the midst of an open crisis of trust with the Armed Forces.

The new head of the Force is the current military commander for the Southeast (responsible for São Paulo), General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva. This week, he had made an incisive speech in defense of institutionality, asking for respect for the results of the elections and affirming the Army as non-political and non-partisan.