Brazil Military Chiefs Leave After Bolsonaro’s Cabinet Shake-Up

(Bloomberg) -- Commanders of Brazil’s Army, Navy and Air Force left the government on Tuesday after President Jair Bolsonaro fired Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva as part of a broader cabinet restructuring.

The shake-up, precipitated by congressional allies who have been unhappy with the president’s pandemic response, displeased the heads of the military who received no advance warning about the change, according to two people close to the armed forces who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

The change of the three commanders -- General Edson Pujol, Admiral Ilques Barbosa and Brigadier Antonio Carlos Moretti Bermudez -- was communicated during meetings with Azevedo e Silva and Walter Braga Netto, who will take over as defense minister in the coming days, according to a statement from the ministry. Replacements for the three men, who had been in their posts since Bolsonaro took office in January 2019, haven’t been named yet.

Bolsonaro has been under pressure to to make room for allies from the centrist establishment he once disdained but now relies on to pass legislation and protect him from impeachment attempts.

Read More: Bolsonaro Ousts Top Ministers as Pandemic Spirals Out of Control

Azevedo e Silva is regarded by high-ranking military commanders as leader who has resisted Bolsonaro’s push to receive more explicit backing of the armed forces whenever his handling of the pandemic is criticized.

“During this period, I preserved the armed forces as a state institution,” Azevedo e Silva wrote in a terse statement following this dismissal on Monday.

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