According to former Defense and Security Minister Raoul Jungmann, the order of the commander of the army, General Paulo Sergio Nogueira de Oliveira, to condition the return of military personnel to full-time work with vaccination against Covid-19 is purely administrative in nature. but it receives political consequences for the insistence of President Jair Bolsonaro (LP) in attempts to invade the jurisdiction of the military.
“The action of the commander is not political, it is administrative, in accordance with his duties. If it gains political status when it is reported, it is because the President of the Republic is seeking to invade the institutional space of the Armed Forces. He has intimidated them for some time. On the part of the commander, the decision is correct, administrative and within the framework of his duties, “Jungmann told the Group.
The former minister says the army commander has a duty to protect the troops, especially in the current scenario of the spread of Covid-19 with the omicron variant.
Caring for the health of commanders, Jungmann points out, also stems from the need to have as many soldiers as possible in 2022, when elections marked by polarization could trigger violent episodes.
“If the decision of the commander is perfectly logical, it is obvious that, although it was not the intention of the commander, it becomes politically relevant, as if it was contrary to the orientation of the President of the Republic. I don’t see it. I think they are the right measures. ” Rational, aimed at protecting the Force, guaranteeing the maximum number of personnel and avoiding contamination. If the president’s logic is different, so be it, ”says Jungmann.
In his opinion, the same applies to the ban on the distribution of fake news about the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is a consistent attitude towards reducing any type of contamination, any type of political participation by the Army in an election year. The more the state character of the Armed Forces is preserved, the better. We all know that participation in fake news is the other way around, “the former minister concludes.