Brazilian President Lula sacks army chief Arruda in aftermath of capital uprising
Jan 21, 2023
Brasilia [Brazil], January 22 : Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday (local time) sacked the country's army chief, Julio Cesar de Arruda in aftermath of the capital uprising, reported The Irish News.
Arruda was sacked over threats to the country's democracy following the January 8 uprising in the capital by far-right protesters.
The official website of the Brazilian armed forces said General Julio Cesar de Arruda had been removed as head of the army. He was replaced by General Tomas Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, who was head of the Southeast Military Command, reported The Irish Times.
The unrest erupted when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings - Brazilian Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court, calling for a military intervention to overthrow the newly elected Lula.
Last week, Lula said he suspected collusion by "people in the armed forces" in the unrest and questioned if he could trust military personnel with his security.
Later, the president's office announced that federal police would replace the army officers on his security details.
In recent weeks, the military has been targeted by Lula after supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed through government buildings and destroyed public property.
Lula said several times in public that there were definitely people in the army who allowed the rioting to occur, reported The Irish Times.
More than 4,000 Bolsonaro supporters caused havoc in Brasilia, storming the National Congress building and causing extensive damage.
The supporters of the former president refused to accept that the populist autocrat lost his bid for reelection, claiming the election was stolen. They called for the military to stage a coup and overthrow Lula.
More than a thousand people were arrested on the day of the riot, which bore strong similarities to the January 6 2021 riots at the US Congress by mobs who wanted to overturn former president Donald Trump's election loss.
