Bolsonaro puts the general who has stopped contagion in the barracks at the head of the Army

Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto arrives at the event to announce the new commanders of the Armed Forces this Wednesday in Brasilia.ADRIANO MACHADO / Reuters

The Brazilian Defense Ministry announced this Wednesday afternoon the new commanders of the Armed Forces.

General Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira is the man chosen to lead the Army, Admiral Almir Garnier is in charge of the Navy and Lieutenant General Carlos Almeida Baptista junior leads the Air Force.

The former military leadership resigned en bloc on Tuesday unhappy with the growing pressure from the president, Jair Bolsonaro, for the active military to get involved in their political battles.

That collective resignation added to the dismissal on the eve of the Defense Minister has opened an unprecedented military crisis that adds to the crisis of Government opened by Bolsonaro with the change of six ministers on Monday.

In addition, Brazil suffers extremely serious damage from the coronavirus.

This Wednesday he broke a new record by adding 3,869 deaths.

The election of the general of Nogueira de Oliveira is surprising because his name was not among Bolsonaro's favorites.

Until now, he was responsible for the Army Health area and therefore responsible for having implemented the strategy that has achieved that the impact of the coronavirus in the barracks is negligible compared to the huge health crisis that Brazil suffers.

This same week the high command explained its recipe in an interview, which is summarized in a mask, social distance, test and immediate isolation of the infected.

A policy that contrasts with the speech and actions of the president.

Bolsonaro has made a “Solomonic decision”, according to the

newspaper

by choosing three men who complement each other and who assume a certain respect for the principle of seniority in the ranks.

Together, they combine closeness with the Chief Executive and a good relationship with the outgoing Defense Minister, Fernando Azevedo.

De Oliveira was the third in the seniority scale and not the first, so his appointment represents a break with tradition.

But not the first.

President Dilma Rousseff also skipped the usual order, recalls

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