Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that he is convinced, three days after the dismissal of the army chief, that Brazil will return „to normal” and that its armed forces „will fulfill their role” without „serving a politician”, AFP reports, Agerpres reads.
„The armed forces do not serve a politician, they do not exist to serve a politician. They exist to ensure the sovereignty of the country, mainly against an external enemy, to ensure the peace of the Brazilian people and things like that in case of natural disasters,” said Lula da Silva in a press conference in Buenos Aires, where he is on an official visit.
Lula da Silva spoke for the first time since sacking army chief Julio César de Arruda on Saturday, two weeks after attacks on power centers in Brasilia. The defense minister had mentioned a „loss of confidence” in the officer in question, after the events of January 8.
„I chose an army chief, but it didn’t work. I had to choose another,” Lula da Silva said on Monday, when asked if confidence had been restored now with the appointment of General Tomas Ribero Paiva. „I had a good conversation with him. He thinks exactly the same as I do about the armed forces,” added the president.
