The Defense Minister, decided to stay in the after request of the President (PT). The hit took place on the night of last Friday (31), in meeting at.
Lula argued that the climate in the climate is still unstable and unfolding of the investigation into the coup d’état can exaggerate the relationship of the barracks with the government, according to three sources close to the president and the minister heard by Sheet.
One of the cases considered most relevant to showing the importance of the minister in the portfolio, according to these sources, was the way he dealt with the crisis installed by the Navy by releasing a video that was opposed to the change in the retirement of the military.
Mucio and Lula evaluated to fire the commander of the Force, Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen. The decision, however, was to resolve the conflict internally to avoid new crises and internal changes.
The president also said that the departure would make the rearrangement of the Esplanade of Ministries even more difficult, with the proximity of a ministerial reform that should move the summit of the Planalto Palace and make room for the center parties.
Mucio told Auxiliaries that he was convinced to spend more time in government, even with the desire to leave the executive and spend more time with the family. The minister often says, when asked, that his position is from Lula – and would only leave the position if the president allowed.
José Mucio Monteiro agreed to take over the Ministry of Defense, still in the transition of government, on the condition that it would not be until the end of Lula’s third term. Responsible for managing crises in profusion, he signaled Lula desire to leave the Esplanade for the first time at the end of 2023.
The last request to leave the government took place in December. Mucio met with Lula in Sao Paulo and said his mission was fulfilled, which was time to leave the exhausting routine of the defense.
Several names were quoted to succeed him: Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, Chief Minister of the Secretariat of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha (PT), Executive Secretary of Industry, Márcio Elias Rosa and former Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).
Commanders of the Armed Forces, Supreme Ministers and former defense chiefs appealed to Múcio to continue in office. Similar requests were made directly to the president.
Lula’s assessment was that no one could fulfill the role of pacification with the military than Mucio.
The Minister of Defense went through turbulent moments in office. After the attacks of January 8, 2023, it was his suggestion to decree GLO (Guarantee of Law and Order), so that the military would vacate the invaded buildings. The idea was rejected by Lula and the first lady Rosângela da Silva, the Janja.
Mucio also had to live with the opposition of petistas, who often asked the minister’s dismissal for betting on the reconciliation with the military instead of framing them, with drastic career changes.
The pressure reached the highest level when the minister said in a public speech that to sign a military arms contract with an Israeli company.
“The diplomatic issue interferes with the defense. There has now been a competition, a bid. The Jews, the people of Israel, but for the war, Hamas, the political groups, we have this bidding, but for ideological reasons not. We can approve, “he pointed out at an event of CNI (National Confederation of Industry).
Even with the opposition of petistas and crises, the president publicly said that Mucio will still be recognized as one of the best defense bosses in history. He gave the speech during the ministry’s 25th anniversary in August 2024.
“There will be a day that Brazilian history will have to consecrate your passage by the Ministry of Defense as possibly the most skilled of all the defense ministers that this country has had,” said Lula.
