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Bolsonaro picks army general as Brazil defense minister
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS NOVEMBER 13, 2018 / 6:30 AM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
Bolsonaro picks army general as Brazil defense minister
Anthony Boadle, Ricardo Brito
4 MIN READ
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro appointed retired army General Fernando Azevedo e Silva as defense minister on Tuesday, adding another former military officer to his cabinet while saying that a career foreign service officer may get the top diplomat’s job.
Azevedo belongs to a group of retired army generals who backed the presidential bid of Bolsonaro, a far-right politician and former army captain, in the name of fighting Brazil’s endemic political corruption and violent crime.
Bolsonaro has vowed to respect the Constitution and democratic rule. But the backing for him from military brass, and the number of former officers in Bolsonaro’s cabinet, have raised concerns about a potential outsized role for the armed forces in Brazil’s government. It spent more than three decades out of the political limelight since the country’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship.
The group of former top military brass is headed by retired five-star General Augusto Heleno, who Bolsonaro had originally named as defense minister. Last week he decided to make Heleno the head of the presidential office for national security.
Azevedo, a four-star general, was Bolsonaro’s contemporary at the Black Needles military academy, Brazil’s West Point, where they both trained as paratroopers.
-snip-
Bolsonaro picks army general as Brazil defense minister
Anthony Boadle, Ricardo Brito
4 MIN READ
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro appointed retired army General Fernando Azevedo e Silva as defense minister on Tuesday, adding another former military officer to his cabinet while saying that a career foreign service officer may get the top diplomat’s job.
Azevedo belongs to a group of retired army generals who backed the presidential bid of Bolsonaro, a far-right politician and former army captain, in the name of fighting Brazil’s endemic political corruption and violent crime.
Bolsonaro has vowed to respect the Constitution and democratic rule. But the backing for him from military brass, and the number of former officers in Bolsonaro’s cabinet, have raised concerns about a potential outsized role for the armed forces in Brazil’s government. It spent more than three decades out of the political limelight since the country’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship.
The group of former top military brass is headed by retired five-star General Augusto Heleno, who Bolsonaro had originally named as defense minister. Last week he decided to make Heleno the head of the presidential office for national security.
Azevedo, a four-star general, was Bolsonaro’s contemporary at the Black Needles military academy, Brazil’s West Point, where they both trained as paratroopers.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-military/bolsonaro-picks-army-general-as-brazil-defense-minister-idUSKCN1NI1BR