Brazilian General Who Suggested Military Intervention Will Not Be Punished

09/21/2017 - 11h07

The Army General Commander, Eduardo Villas Bôas, confirmed that General Antonio Hamilton Mourão will not receive any punishment for suggesting an intervention by the Armed Forces in the country.

In the first time that he has spoken about the subject, the commander told TV Globo anchor Pedro Bial that he had already talked with Mourão "to put things in order, but punishment, no".

He even said that the possibility of military intervention "happens permanently" and that the "Armed Forces are charged with carrying out [an intervention] if chaos in eminent".

On Monday, Defense Minister Raul Jungmann asked Villas Bôas for an explanation of the incident. In a written communication, the Minister declared that there was a discussion regarding the "necessary measures to be taken" regarding general Mourão.

In an interview, Villas Bôas referred to Mourão as "a great soldier, an incredible presence, a great figure from Rio Grande do Sul".

On Friday (the 15th), Mourão had declared that his "colleagues from the Army's High Command" have an understanding that a "military intervention" could take place if the Judiciary "doesn't resolve the political problem", referring to ongoing corruption scandals.

The general, who is the Army's Economic and Financial Secretary, was speaking at a masonry seminar in Brasília.

Villas Bôas denied that Mourão had disobeyed legislation that prohibits active-duty officers from speaking out on political or political party matters. For him, his colleague's statements were taken out of context and misinterpreted.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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	Diego Vara/Agência RBS/Folhapress
	General Antônio Hamilton Martins Mourão