Lula should meet with Defense Minister José Múcio by Friday (20)| Photo: José Cruz/Agência Brasil

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) should meet until next Friday (20) with the Minister of Defense, José Múcio, and the commanders of the Army, Air Force and Navy to discuss the modernization of the Armed Forces and solve the distrust of the current government. The meeting is being organized by the Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, who participated in a meeting at the Ministry of Defense, this Tuesday (17).

The minister informed that the government intends to expand investments in the Armed Forces, possibly through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). However, he denied that the investment announcement is “a caress to the military” to avoid a bigger crisis.

“Other nations in the world, for example, large and developed nations, make PPP projects to equip their Armed Forces. With this, they are able to anticipate investments that would not be possible if they were to depend only on annual budget resources”, stated Costa.

The depredation of the headquarters of the three branches of government on January 8 accentuated the mutual distrust between the military and President Lula, which already existed even before his inauguration. The president’s surroundings raise suspicions about the actions of the Armed Forces, which would have favored vandalism on January 8.