Jair Bolsonaro's crisis-stricken administration has been rocked by the sudden sacking of Brazil's defence minister and the subsequent resignation of the heads of all three branches of the armed forces.
The commanders of the Brazilian army, navy and air force – Gen Edson Leal Pujol, Adm Ilques Barbosa and Lt-Brig Antônio Carlos Bermudez – met with the president's new minister on Tuesday morning and reportedly tendered their resignations during a dramatic and heated encounter. On Tuesday afternoon the defence ministry confirmed all three would be replaced, a political earthquake that rattled a country already grappling with one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks.
The Folha de São Paulo newspaper said that never before in Brazilian history had the heads of all three branches of the military resigned out of disagreement with a president.
The historic upheaval, which left many Brazilians on edge, came after Brazil's far-right president fired defence minister Gen Fernando Azevedo e Silva on Monday during what one media report called a chilly three-minute encounter. "I need your job," Bolsonaro told the General, a longstanding friend, according to the Estado de São Paulo newspaper.
Eliane Cantanhêde, a prominent journalist for that broadsheet in the capital Brasília, claimed Gen Azevedo e Silva had left government after making it clear to the president – a former army captain who is notorious for his praise of authoritarians – that the armed forces owed loyalty to the constitution and were not Bolsonaro's personal force.
Bolsonaro had reportedly been demanding the removal of Gen Pujol, who, to the president's apparent consternation, has publicly rejected the politicization of Brazil's military and pushed for tougher restrictions against Covid, which has killed more than 314,000 Brazilians. Earlier this month Bolsonaro – whose handling of the pandemic and opposition to lockdown have been internationally condemned – sparked outrage by issuing a veiled threat to declare a "state of siege".
Bolsonaro's chances of re-election suffered a major blow this month after his nemesis, the former left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was freed up to challenge him after the surprise decision to quash the corruption convictions against him. "Lula's return to politics changes everything," said his former foreign minister, Celso Amorim. Many now expect Lula to run against Bolsonaro in 2022.
Cantanhêde said Bolsonaro's high-risk gambit to shore up military support – which risks angering key figures within the armed forces – spoke to an increasingly desperate president who was haemorrhaging support, including among Brazil's economic elite, thanks to his "horrific" reaction to Covid. Polls suggest Bolsonaro still enjoys the support of about 30% of the population but is considered the chief culprit for Brazil's Covid calamity by 43% of citizens and rejected by almost half the country. "He is weak," Cantanhêde claimed. "He is cornered."
Brazil on edge as three military chiefs resign after Bolsonaro fires defense minister
Political earthquake rattles country already grappling with one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks
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He still has 30% support?
