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

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in the Brazilian Army. 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 of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America. Also, it forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várzea Grande. The city' ...

. He joined the army in 1975. Two years later, he joined the '' Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras''. In his military career, he served in engineering units in Itajubá, Rio de Janeiro, Cuiabá, and

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

. 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 state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...

, 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) - Escola Marechal Castello Branco – is in the Urca neighborhood, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is an educational unit of ...

. 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 (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...

at the National Defense University in the United States. He was also a commander at the Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras 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 retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...

on 30 December 2022, replacing Marco Antônio Freire Gomes. Júlio Cesar de Arruda was appointed in coordination with the transition team of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 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 (; ''Three Powers Plaza'') is a plaza in Brasília, the Capital (political), capital of Brazil. The name is derived from the presence of the three governmental powers around the plaza: the Executive (government), Executive, ...

in Brasília, many calling on the military to overturn the

election results The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "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 voc ...

in which

lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In the aftermath of the attack, Lula administration officials arrived at the headquarters of the Brazilian Army 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 Flávio Dino: "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. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and the

Brazilian Intelligence Agency The Brazilian Intelligence Agency ( pt, Agência Brasileira de Inteligência, 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 a ...

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