President luiz inacio lula da silva Brazil’s army chief was sacked on Saturday amid concerns of a threat to the country’s democracy after a January 8 uprising in the capital by right-wing protesters.
The official website of Brazil’s armed forces said General Julio Cesar de Arruda has been removed as army chief. He was replaced by General Tomás Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, who was the head of the Southeast Military Command.
In recent weeks, Lula has targeted the army after supporters of the former president jair bolsonaro They raided government buildings and damaged public property. Lula publicly stated several times that there were certainly people in the army who allowed the riots to happen.
Rioters storm Brazil’s Congress, presidential palace and offices Supreme court Called for military intervention in Brasilia and to reverse Bolsonaro’s defeat to Lula in the presidential election.
More than a thousand people were arrested on the day of the riot, which bore strong parallels to the riots in the US Congress on January 6, 2021, which sought to reverse former President Donald Trump’s election loss.
A Brazilian Supreme Court judge earlier this month in his investigation authorized Bolsonaro to incite riots in Brasilia as part of a wider crackdown to catch those responsible.
According to the text of his ruling, Justice Alexandre de Moraes granted the request from the prosecutor-general’s office, citing a video posted by Bolsonaro on Facebook two days after the riots. The video claims that Lula was not voted into office, but was chosen by the Supreme Court and the Electoral Authority of Brazil.