Múcio speaks of fracture in the relationship with the Army when he officializes the exchange in a 1-minute speech – 01/21/2023 – Politics

The Minister of Defense, José Múcio, made official, this Saturday night (21), in a 1-minute speech, the change in command of the Army, after the decision of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to resign from the post of army commander, General Júlio Cesar de Arruda.

Claiming that there had been a “fracture” in the relationship of trust with Força, Múcio said that the decision for the exchange had the objective of stopping the problem “right at the beginning”.

“Obviously, with these last episodes, the question of the camps, the question of [ataque] On January 8, relations at the command of the Army suffered a fracture in the level of trust. We thought we could stop this right at the beginning”, said Múcio in the brief speech next to the new commander, who did not comment.

He was chosen for the position of the current military commander of the Southeast (responsible for São Paulo), General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva.

The change in the Army, the main one of the three Armed Forces, took place in the midst of an open crisis of confidence after the January 8 attacks in Brasília.

Arruda had been appointed to the command of Força on December 28, before Lula’s inauguration as president. He had been chosen based on seniority by the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro.

According to the president’s assistants, the decision was taken because Arruda showed no willingness to take immediate measures to reduce Lula’s distrust of Army soldiers after the invasion of the Planalto Palace and the headquarters of the STF (Federal Supreme Court) and Congress. . Arruda was reluctant to expose the Commando Militar do Planalto, which at least failed on the 8th.

Arruda called a meeting this Saturday morning (21) with the Force High Command to confirm Lula’s decision to the Generalate. Three generals who participated in the virtual meeting told the Sheet that Arruda did not make it clear what would have been the main motivation for his dismissal.

He said, according to reports, that, on Friday (20th), he spent hours together with Lula in a meeting that was considered productive on investments in strategic projects in the area of ​​defense.