In early January, supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the government district in Brasília. Now the new Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has replaced the commander of the army.
After the storming of the government district in Brasília, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva replaced the commander of the army. “Today, together with Defense Minister José Múcio, I spoke to General Tomás Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, the new commander of the army,” Lula wrote on Twitter on Saturday (local time) and wished the new commander all the best for his work. Ribeiro Paiva, who succeeds Júlio César de Arruda, was previously commander of the Southeast Command based in São Paulo. He had said in a video this week that the election results must be respected in order to guarantee democracy.
On January 8, supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro, who had just been replaced by Lula, stormed Congress, the seat of government and the Supreme Court in Brasília, causing extensive damage. Around 1,500 sympathizers of right-wing Bolsonaro have been arrested for the time being. Many do not want to recognize the victory of new President Lula in October’s election. Because they suspect fraud because of the close election result, they repeatedly call for military intervention.
The left-wing politician Lula expressed the suspicion that the rioters, for example with members of the military and the federal police of the capital district, had made arrangements during the storming of the government district in the capital. Out of distrust, he had already relieved several dozen members of the military from their duties in the presidential residence and renewed the head of the police force.
