Former commander spent only 23 days in office, before being fired on January 21, 2023; Tomás Paiva took over
General Júlio César Arruda, 64 years old, was the commander of the Brazilian army who spent less time in office since Brazil’s re-democratization, in March 1985. He stayed only 23 days in the post (from 30.Dec.2022 to 21.Jan.2023).
Arruda was appointed by the then president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) on December 28, 2022, after being appointed by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT). He took office on December 30 in place of General Marco Antônio Freire Gomes.
On Saturday (January 21, 2023), he was fired by President Lula. The main cause was a case 2 indictment against Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid during the Bolsonaro government. General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva, 62 years old, was also nominated on Saturday to assume the post.
Since the end of the Brazilian Military Dictatorship (1964-1985), the country has had 12 commanders in the Army. There were 5 in Jair Bolsonaro’s management alone (read below).
Regarding the length of stay, in addition to General Arruda, who was only 23 days in office, the 2 soldiers with the least time in command were former minister Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira, with 11 months (20.Apr.2021-31 .mar.2022) and Marco Antônio Freire Gomes, aged 8 months (31.mar.2022-30.dec.2022).
Those who stayed in the Brazilian Army for the longest time, after the end of the military regime, were generals Enzo Peri (7 years), Pires de Carvalho (6) and Zoroastro (6) and Leônidas Pires (5).
From February 2015, during the 2nd mandate of Dilma Rousseff (PT), no Army commander stayed more than 3 years in office.
DISMISSAL OF ARRUDA
Lula called the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro, very early on Saturday (21.jan.2023). It was just over 6 am and both decided together that the best thing to do would be to dismiss General Júlio César de Arruda.
The Minister of Defense did not want to run the risk of creating a crisis similar to the one that was formed because of extremist camps in front of Army Barracks across the country. He decided that a more immediate action should be taken because of resistance seen in General Arruda’s behavior.
As found out by Power360, Arruda wanted to keep the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Cid to command the 1st BAC (Command Action Battalion) in Goiânia (GO), starting in February 2023. Lula, on the other hand, wanted the promotion of the former Bolsonaro’s aide-de-camp to be revoked due to the accusations. The refusal cost the lieutenant colonel the price of the barracks.
Cid has been accused of irregularly using corporate credit cards from the Presidency of the Republic in the 4 years he was serving Bolsonaro. The lieutenant colonel peremptorily denies the accusations. He shows the statements of the only corporate card he had access to. He says that any deposits he made in cash for service providers of the president and the then first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, were funds withdrawn from Bolsonaro’s personal account.
The headquarters in Goiânia is a strategic point due to its proximity to Brasília and because it is allowed to act in cases of threats to the federal capital. Cid would command the 1st BAC, a troop-intensive division of the Army.
The PT leadership also wanted to prevent the promotion of other officials considered too closely aligned with the previous government. One of them, according to the Power360is General Dutra (Gustavo Henrique Dutra de Menezes), who has commanded the Planalto Military Command since April 2022.
General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva, appointed in Arruda’s place, is more aligned with the government. The military defended the PT’s victory in the 2022 elections.
Tomás defended that the result of the electronic polls be respected and stated that the military should not expose political opinions. He made the statement during a ceremony honoring the soldiers killed in action in Haiti.
Watch (4min46s):
#General #Arruda #Army #shortest #time #office