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(CNN) Brazil reported yet another record number of deaths on Tuesday as a surge of COVID-19 infections cripples hospitals across the country. But it s the political turmoil rocking the government that grabbed headlines on Wednesday.
A day after the biggest Cabinet reshuffle since President Jair Bolsonaro took office, the three commanders of Brazil s armed forces were squeezed out, fueling speculation that Bolsonaro is losing the support of the military and seeking to assert control, amid growing criticism over his handling of the pandemic. The Military Refuses Political Affiliation and Bolsonaro Replaces the Heads of the Armed Forces, declared O Globo newspaper. In its headline, Folha de S. Paulo called it the biggest military crisis since 1977, when there was a similar institutional rift during the military dictatorship.
”The greatest desire (of Bolsonaro) is to be a dictator (.), he has an extreme vocation for authoritarianism,” said Doria.
Brazil s Vice President Hamilton Mourao Wednesday commemorated the 57th anniversary of the last coup d etat in the country as lawmakers pressed for the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
On this day, 57 years ago, the Brazilian population, with the support of the Armed Forces, prevented the International Communist Movement from setting its grip on Brazil. Strength and Honor!, said the retired army general Mourao. Bolsonaro himself is a retired army captain.
Both leaders support the uprising that overthrew the democratically elected President Joao Goulart to set up a military dictatorship that lasted until 1985.
“There is no political coherence,” Mr. Santoro said. “This is not a shift toward moderation, or an attempt to build bridges” in Congress, he added.
On Wednesday, a day after Brazil recorded 3,780 daily deaths, a record, Mr. Bolsonaro renewed his attacks on lockdowns and other rigid measures that health experts have said are necessary to arrest the spread of the virus.
“We’re not going to fix this problem by staying at home,” Mr. Bolsonaro said. “No nation can sustain itself for long with that kind of policy.”
Mr. Bolsonaro offered no new information about the events that led him to dismiss the commanders of the Army, the Air Force and the Navy on Tuesday. The three stepped down abruptly a day after the president fired his defense secretary, a retired general.
Who’s who in the reshuffled cabinet
In that context, Bolsonaro closed out March with the largest reshuffle in his administration since taking office on January 2019. From the time of his inauguration, 18 ministers have left their jobs, including former Justice Minister
Sergio Moro. The country has had four different health ministers since the pandemic began. This time around, the major cabinet figures to step down were Foreign Affairs Minister
Ernesto Araújo, Attorney General
José Levi, and Defense Minister
Fernando Azevedo e Silva. The other positions receiving replacements include the secretary of the presidency, justice minister, and chief-of-staff.
Foreign Minister: Araújo was the target of criticism from both the private sector and congress for not securing vaccines from U.S. developers, hindering relations with China and India when the countries were about to commit to shipping vaccines, and striking a hard right tone. Another letter signed by over 300 diplo