Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid’s statement placed the Armed Forces back at the center of suspicion regarding a likely coup plan hatched by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
Cid says he witnessed a meeting in which Bolsonaro consulted the top military brass about a coup draft. The text, taken to the former president by then advisor Felipe Martins, suggested preventing President Lula da Silva from taking office and even arresting political opponents.
According to Cid’s testimony, among those present, only the admiral and then commander of the Navy, Almir Garnier, showed support for the plan.
An investigation by the newspaper Valor Econômico reveals that, in addition to disagreeing with the plan, General Freire Gomes, commander of the Army, also threatened to arrest the president if he continued with the coup ideas. “If you go ahead with this, I will be forced to arrest you,” the general reportedly said. The Air Force commander, Brigadier Carlos Batista, according to the newspaper, remained silent.
Mauro Cid’s defense asks for provisional release after demonstrating his intention to plea bargain
For Tricontinental Institute researcher Jorge Rodrigues, the case reveals probable malfeasance by the military personnel present, if the content of Mauro Cid’s accusation is true.
“Assuming he is telling the truth, someone prevaricated. Because, if there was a proposal for a draft coup, a commander of an armed force was willing and the others against it did nothing, there was, at the very least, prevarication”, he warned .
Jorge Rodrigues analyzed Mauro Cid’s new revelations during the Central do Brasil program this Friday (22) and commented on the adherence to Bolsonarism among members of the Armed Forces, the progress of investigations at CPMI into coup acts and the role of the minister of Defense under the Lula government, José Múcio Monteiro, in this scenario in which the military is increasingly linked to Jair Bolsonaro’s alleged coup plan.
“I understand that we do not have a Minister of Defense. We have an Armed Forces dispatcher with the federal government. The minister’s role is to represent the politically and democratically elected authority with the military. What the Múcio does is the process contrary. He represents the voice of the barracks with the federal government”, criticized the researcher.
:: Government prepares PEC that prohibits active military personnel from contesting elections and holding positions in the Executive ::
After Mauro Cid’s statement was released, the minister minimized the military’s involvement and stated that “many people did not want to leave power”. He said that, during the transition, he had a lot of difficulty dealing with commanders and that Admiral Garnier was the only one who did not receive him during that period.
Múcio also stated that the content of Cid’s statement, which casts suspicion on the military, “bothers” and “embarrasses”. Furthermore, he stated that it was necessary to “fullanize” and identify who the military personnel involved in coup plots were, so that action could be taken.
Jorge highlighted, during the interview, that Admiral Garnier’s coup stance was already well known, now exposed by Mauro Cid’s denunciation.
“All of us who followed the topic knew that Admiral Garnier is, in fact, a Bolsonarist. We all knew about this coup inclination, in the sense of supporting the former president in his incursions”, he recalled.
The full interview is available in this Friday’s edition (22) of Central do Brasil on the Brasil de Fato channel on YouTube
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Federal Deputy Nilto Tatto comments on Ricardo Salles’ report and indictments requested by the commission
Central do Brasil is a production of Brasil de Fato. The program is shown from Monday to Friday, live, always at 1pm, on Rede TVT and partner broadcasters.
Editing: Thalita Pires
