Bolsonaro Criticizes Argentina Over Plan Changing Military Powers

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro again criticized his Argentine counterpart, Alberto Fernández, on Thursday night, January 24th.

In a social media message, Bolsonaro published a story by the local newspaper ‘Cronista’ reporting a proposal by Fernández’s government to remove some powers from the Armed Forces command. For Bolsonaro, the measure would leave “the military submissive to the [sic] government’s political and ideological wishes”.

According to the Argentinian newspaper, the current government’s plan is to revoke a decree signed by former President Mauricio Macri in 2016.

The decree transferred powers from the Ministry of Defense to the military leaderships, such as granting military ranks, assigning personnel to middle management positions, defining mission assignments, approving qualifications obtained in recruitment institutions and higher schools, granting licenses, and providing for compulsory retirements, among others.

Fernández’s plan would thus strip the military high command of these duties and return them to the Ministry of Defense.

The current Argentine leader has been the target of criticism from Bolsonaro ever since he joined the presidential race in May 2019. Together with his vice president, ex-president Cristina Kirchner, Fernández has been a supporter of ex-president Lula – both of them publicly advocated for the PT (Worker’s Party) leader’s release when he was imprisoned in Curitiba.

Bolsonaro, on the other hand, was a supporter of former President Maurício Macri, who lost his re-election contest to the left-wing slate.

Bolsonaro’s criticism of Fernández represents a breach of protocol, given that it is diplomatic practice for a president not to speak on the internal affairs of another country. The Brazilian president is in India, where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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