Júlio Cesar de Arruda (born 9 January 1959) is a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the

Brazilian Army The Brazilian Army (; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordina ...

. He has served as chief of the army's Department of Engineering and Construction. He was the commander of the Brazilian Army from 30 December 2022 to 21 January 2023.

Biography

Arruda was born on 9 January 1959 in

Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city and the largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America and also forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várz ...

. He joined the army in 1975. Two years later, he joined the ''

Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras The Military Academy of Agulhas Negras (, AMAN – named after the Pico das Agulhas Negras, Agulhas Negras summit) is the biggest school of formation of combatant officers of the Brazilian Army. It originated in 1792 with the creation of the Roy ...

''. In his military career, he served in engineering units in

Itajubá Itajubá is a municipality in southeastern Minas Gerais state of the Federative Republic of Brazil. It lies in a valley by the Sapucaí river and has terrain elevations ranging from 827 to 1500 metres, occupying an area of 290.45 km2 (112.14&n ...

, Rio de Janeiro, Cuiabá, and

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

. As lieutenant colonel, he advised the Institutional Security Bureau of the Presidency of the Republic (2000–01) and commanded the 1st Battalion of Special Forces in

Goiânia Goiânia ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-larges ...

, in the (2005–06). With the rank of colonel, he was a commander at the in

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

and taught at the in Itajubá, at the , and at the

Escola de Comando e Estado-Maior do Exército The Escola de Comando e Estado-Maior do Exército - ECEME (Brazilian Army Command and General Staff School) - Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco, Escola Marechal Castello Branco – is in the Urca neighborhood, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Br ...

. He was also a military observer for the

United Nations Angola Verification Mission II The United Nations Angola Verification Mission II (UNAVEM II), established May 1991 and lasting until February 1995, was the second United Nations peacekeeping mission, of a total of four, deployed to Angola during the course of the Angolan Civ ...

and an advisor for the Brazilian Military Cooperation in Paraguay. He also completed a course on

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and Intelligence agency, intelligence ...

at the

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

in the United States. He was also a commander at the

in Rio and at the Special Operations Command in Goiânia, and he held a variety of other positions.

Command of the Brazilian army

Arruda was put in charge of the Brazilian army under

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...

on 30 December 2022, replacing

Marco Antônio Freire Gomes Marco Antônio Freire Gomes (born 31 July 1957 in Pirassununga) is a retired army general of the Brazilian Army, which he commanded from 31 March to 30 December 2022. Military career Military official Gomes is son of Cavalry Colonel Francisco Va ...

. Júlio Cesar de Arruda was appointed in coordination with the transition team of

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...

, so that the change of command would take place before Lula's inauguration. He was confirmed to his position by Lula's minister of defense José Múcio Monteiro on 6 January 2023.

2023 Brasília attack

On 8 January, pro-Bolsonaro rioters attacked federal buildings at the

Praça dos Três Poderes Praça dos Três Poderes () or Three Powers Plaza (more idiomatically ''Three Branches Plaza'') is a plaza in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. The name is derived from the presence of the three branches of government around the plaza: the Exec ...

in Brasília, many calling on the military to overturn the

election results The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as st ...

in which

lost to

. In the aftermath of the attack, Lula administration officials arrived at the headquarters of the

to detain insurrectionists at a pro-Bolsonaro camp on the lawn adjacent to the army headquarters. The officials were faced tanks and lines of soldiers, and Júlio Cesar de Arruda told

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Flávio Dino Flávio Dino de Castro e Costa (born 30 April 1968) is a Brazilian attorney-at-law, attorney, Supreme Court Justice, politician and professor. A former federal judge, Dino was elected to the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamber of Deputies in 2 ...

: "You are not going to arrest people here." Lula administration officials say this gave hundreds of insurrectionists an opportunity to escape and evade arrest. President Lula blamed the intelligence services of the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

and the

Brazilian Intelligence Agency The Brazilian Intelligence Agency (, ABIN) is the main intelligence agency in Brazil. ABIN's mission is to ensure that the Federal Executive has access to knowledge related to the security of the State and society, such as those involving fore ...

for failing to alert him to the possibility of a coup attack. On 18 January, Lula affirmed that " veryone who participated in coup activity will be punished. Everyone. No matter what rank, no matter what branch of the military they're in. Lula relieved Arruda of his post as commander of the army on 21 January 2023, replacing him with .

References

{{s-end People from Cuiabá 1959 births Brazilian generals Living people