Defense Minister Margarita Robles, along with Jemad, General Miguel Ángel Villarroya Eduardo Parra / Europa Press
The Chief of the Defense Staff (Jemad), General Miguel Ángel Villarroya, resigned this Saturday after it became known the day before that he himself and other military commanders had already been vaccinated against covid-19 despite not being part of the groups of priority immunization.
Until now, the head of the military leadership has sent a letter to the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, in which he asks for his dismissal (equivalent to the resignation of the active military) in order not to "damage the image" of the Armed Forces .
Robles has accepted the dismissal at his own request, according to sources in his department, although this will not materialize until it is approved by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday.
In the letter, General Villaroya defends his decision to vaccinate both himself and other military personnel assigned to the Defense Staff (Emad) who were not in the priority groups, alleging that “in compliance with their obligations, according to the established protocols and with the sole purpose of preserving the integrity, continuity and effectiveness of the chain of command of the Armed Forces ”had recently taken“ decisions that it considers correct ”, but that are“ deteriorating the public image of the Armed Forces and putting in doubts "his" own honesty.
Although he assures that "he has never tried to take advantage of unjustifiable privileges", he calls for his dismissal as Chief of the Defense Staff, "with a clear conscience" and "not to damage the image" of the Armed Forces.
The Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, asked General Villarroya for a report on Friday after publishing that he and other generals of the Defense Staff had already been vaccinated against covid-19.
The minister did not want to advance if she would take any action: "Depending on what the report says, we will see."
Sources close to General Villarroya assure that he has decided to voluntarily request his dismissal this Saturday, in view of the avalanche of criticism that his decision to get vaccinated has provoked in public opinion.
Defense sources affirm, however, that Minister Margarita Robles decided to relieve him on Friday night, when he returned from Toledo, after reading the report that he had asked Villarroya himself.
In any case, the removal of the head of the military leadership will not take place until Tuesday, when it is approved by the Council of Ministers.
Contrary to what happens with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Jujem), the Chief of Defense Staff is appointed and removed by the Prime Minister, not the Defense Minister.
This is the first time since the post of Chief of Defense Staff (Jemad) was created in 1984 that its holder ceases.
The most similar situation occurred in 1992, when the then head of the military leadership, Gonzalo Rodríguez Martín-Granizo, died of a stroke while in office.
In the event that General Villarroya was dismissed on Tuesday without appointing a system, the oldest of the chiefs of staff of the three armies would temporarily assume the leadership of the military leadership: in this case, the chief of the Army of Land, General Francisco Javier Varela.
General Villarroya had only been in office for a year (he was appointed on January 15, 2020), he was the youngest of the members of the military leadership (63 years old) and the only one appointed by the Government headed by Pedro Sánchez.
Sources from the Defense General Staff confirmed on Friday that Villarroya and other generals from the chain of command of the Armed Forces (such as the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or the Chief of Operations Command) had already received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. -BioNtech.
The Defense vaccination plan ordered to administer it, first of all, to military health personnel;
and then to the troops that must be deployed on international missions.
This is the reason why the crew of the amphibious assault ship
Castilla
and the
Tajo
mine
hunter
, who are due to set sail in the coming weeks
, have been vaccinated this January
.
Only later should the military in critical positions, difficult to replace, be vaccinated.
However, sources from the Defense General Staff explained that it received a dose quota and that, once the scarce medical personnel that depends on said body and the military that must soon join international missions had been covered, the integrated group was transferred by members of the operational chain of command.
Within this group, they added, the generals were prioritized "for being the oldest."
According to the same sources, vaccination in the Defense General Staff did not have to follow the same rhythm as in the rest of the Armed Forces or in society as a whole.
The news caused discomfort among many military personnel and also in the Defense Ministry itself, by giving the image that the generals are privileged and not the personnel who are more exposed to contracting the disease.
In addition, it occurs in full controversy over the irregular vaccinations of mayors and regional councilors, such as those of Murcia or Ceuta, who skipped their turn and were vaccinated earlier than their due.
Robles stressed that the vaccination plan of the Ministry of Defense is coordinated with that of Health and that in the central body of the department no one has been vaccinated, despite the fact that the Secretary of State, Esperanza Casteleiro, has had to isolate herself after giving positive.
In the two military hospitals, Gómez Ulla and Zaragoza, the health protocol of the autonomous communities of Madrid and Aragón is followed, so in the first one the vaccination of health personnel has been suspended, following the decision of the regional government.
When EL PAÍS published last Monday that it was vaccinating the military who were going on an international mission, Defense sources assured that their immunization plan, with a "reduced quota" of vaccines that Health has provided, was in line with the general criteria and only departed from it in "exceptional cases."