Brazil: Defense and Foreign Affair Ministers Sacked

On Monday, the Brazilian ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs gave their resignation letters to the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, thus accentuating the institutional crisis in the South American country.

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 Foreign Affairs Minister Resigns Due To Senate Pressure

Brazilian Foreign Minister, Ernesto Araújo, resigned from his responsibilities due to pressure exerted by parliamentarians, business people, and politicians, who have vehemently criticized his management in the Ministry.

Official sources confirmed that Araújo communicated his decision to his advisers and had a brief meeting with Bolsonaro. He presented his resignation after the president summoned him to Government's headquarters to discuss his situation. 

Pressures against Araújo had grown in recent weeks, even from the Government's official base, given the Foreign Minister's criticism of key partners for Brazil, such as China and the United States. The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, called for his resignation, considering that Brazil's foreign policy was defective, while Arthur Lira, president of the lower house, also asked for his resignation. 

For their part, around 300 Brazilian diplomats also published a letter in which they claimed that he had caused "serious damage in international relations" and demanded that he leave office. Likewise, Araújo had been seriously questioned for his management purchasing vaccines against Covid-19, which has left 313,866 dead and more than 12 million 573,615 cases in the country.

Similarly, local media reported that Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva also resigned from office. The 67-year-old leader had has served in that portfolio since January 1, 2019.

Although he did not give details of the reason for his resignation, Azevedo thanked Bolsonaro for his appointment as Minister, "I thank the president, to whom I have devoted total loyalty during these more than two years, for the opportunity to have served the country," he added.

As a result of the country's dramatic institutional situation, Bolsonaro announced new appointments in the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs and Justice and Public Security portfolios, the Ministry of the Government, the Civil House, and the Law Office Union.

Bolsonaro appointed Carlos Alberto Franco, who served as ambassador to France, as chancellor; Walter Souza as Defense Minister; In the Secretary of Government will be the deputy Flávia Arruda; the Ministry of Justice and Public Security will be directed by the delegate of the Federal Police, Anderson Gustavo Torres; in the Civil House General Luiz Eduardo Ramos Baptista Pereira will take over, and in charge of Lawyers of the Union André Luiz de Almeida Mendonça was appointed.