Brazil has named new commanders of its armed forces, a day after President Jair Bolsonaro’s government said it would replace the heads of the army, navy and air force in a shake-up that raised concerns about the far-right leader meddling with the military.
In a news conference on Wednesday, Defence Minister Walter Braga Netto announced that Paulo Sergio Nogueira de Oliveira would take over the army, Almir Garnier the navy and Carlos Almeida Baptista Junior the air force.
It was Braga Netto’s first news conference since he was appointed to the post on Monday in a sweeping cabinet reshuffle.
Brazil: More than 60,000 people died of Covid-19 in March
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image captionBrazil has the suffered the second highest death toll from Covid-19 in the world
Some 66,570 people in Brazil died of Covid-19 in March, more than double the previous monthly record, figures show.
The country s health service has been pushed to the brink as cases of the virus continue to climb.
President Jair Bolsonaro has faced intense criticism for his handling of the crisis and was hit by high-profile resignations this week.
But on Wednesday he again railed against lockdown measures imposed by local governors and mayors. We had, and we have, two enemies - the virus and unemployment! It is a reality! We are not going to solve this problem by staying at home, he said.
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