Former army commander was special advisor to the Institutional Security Office since January 2019
General Eduardo Dias da Costa Villas Bôas was dismissed this Tuesday (June 21, 2022) from the position of special advisor to the Minister of the GSI (Institutional Security Office) of the Presidency, General Augusto Heleno. The exoneration –an expression proper to the public service for dismissals– “by request” was published in extra edit of the DOU (Official Union Gazette).
Villas Bôas held the position since January 30, 2019. The GSI has ministry status and is located in Palácio do Planalto. Before, the general held the command of the Army for 4 years. He was chosen for the role by former president Dilma Rousseff in 2015.
In January 2019, the military announced on his social networks that he had received the “mission” from the president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to integrate the GSI. The body is responsible for the security of the Chief Executive and coordinates the Abin (Brazilian Intelligence Agency).
Villas Bôas is considered an advisor to Bolsonaro and often receives visits from the president. The soldier is 70 years old and is diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system. On March 3, he was at the Planalto in a ceremony about raising awareness of rare diseases. On the occasion, Bolsonaro said that the general is a “person who has always transmitted faith, courage and patriotism”.
The general has already made statements that diverged from government policies, but also defended measures adopted by the chief executive and ministers. At the beginning of the pandemic, Villas Bôas also defended the vertical isolation suggested by Bolsonaro.
STF
In April 2018, a publication by Villas Bôas was highlighted on social media on the eve of the STF (Federal Supreme Court) denying the former president’s defense request. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (EN) against the PT’s arrest.
Without directly citing Lula’s case, he said that the Army “believes it shares the desire of all citizens for the good of repudiation of impunity and respect for the Constitution, social peace and Democracy, as well as being attentive to its institutional missions”.
In the book “General Villas Bôas: Conversation with the Commander”, the military man narrates that the text published on Twitter “had a ‘draft’” prepared by its staff and “by members of the High Command residing in Brasília”. He stated that “It was a warning [ao STF]long before a threat”.
Regarding the excerpt from the book, in a note, Minister Edson Fachin, rapporteur for Lava Jato in the Supreme Court, stated that any pressure on the Judiciary is “intolerable” and “unacceptable”.
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