2021 Brazilian military crisis

[1][2] Since the beginning of his government, Bolsonaro had appointed an unprecedented number of military personnel to civilian positions, seeking to receive, in exchange, support from the military, including through public demonstrations in favor of his government's policies and against the measures adopted by the governors to confront the COVID-19 pandemic,[3][4] in addition to advocating the decree of the State of Defense, as a way to increase its powers.

[5] On March 29, after being fired by the president, Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva declared he had preserved the Armed Forces as "state institutions.

"[6] The following day, Commanders Edson Pujol (Army), Ilques Barbosa (Navy) and Antonio Carlos Moretti Bermudez (Air Force) resigned, in an unprecedented act in the New Republic.

[10][11] Sworn into office in January 2019, President Bolsonaro, a retired captain and notorious supporter of the military dictatorship, gave the Armed Forces a space unprecedented in federal public administration during post-redemocratization governments.

[40] In a statement, Azevedo e Silva said he had preserved "the Armed Forces as state institutions" and that he was leaving office with the "certainty of mission accomplished.

"[41] On the same day of the resignation, Azevedo e Silva assured officials, including Fux and ministers of the STF, that there would be no risk of an institutional rupture because the Armed Forces were "committed to the democratic rule of law.

[43] To interlocutors, Azevedo e Silva stated that he was "uncomfortable in the government" and that there was pressure for the Armed Forces to get involved in politics, which he did not accept doing, culminating in his removal.

[52] However, the actions of Brazil's highest military officials revealed the Armed Forces' determination to stay out of politics, demonstrating that they "do not accept authoritarianism, coups, and violation of the Constitution."

[53][54] Vice President Hamilton Mourão assured the public that the crisis would not generate an "institutional rupture" because the "Armed Forces will be guided by legality, always.

"[57] In the upper house of parliament, senators asked Braga Netto to provide clarification "about a possible coup plot by the president of the Republic.

"[60] With a similar opinion, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, minimized the hypothesis that Bolsonaro is preparing for a "coup adventure," arguing, "There is no risk to democracy.

"[61] On March 30, journalist Monica Bergamo [pt] wrote that "Bolsonaro breaks hierarchy to attempt self-coup after leading country into anarchy," an opinion that was shared by Supreme Court justices.

"[62] In the foreign press, Reuters called the crisis an "unprecedented attempt [by a president] to meddle in the Armed Forces",[63] National Public Radio reported that it was "the biggest political crisis to hit the Brazilian military in decades [...] all this while Brazil struggles with the world's worst increase in COVID-19 deaths",[64] and NBC News noted that the changes "caused widespread apprehension of a military rearrangement to serve the president's political interests.

"[65] Clarín wrote that Bolsonaro was "cornered by the out-of-control coronavirus pandemic"[66] and CNN took the view that the change in the Armed Forces was aimed at "ensuring loyalty.