Novo deputy claimed to have reacted to intimidation by the head of the Army’s parliamentary advisory
The federal deputy (Novo-RS) called the Army commander, General Tomás Ribeiro Paiva, “loose“. The situation was at a time of tension between the conservative wing of Congress and the Army Command, in which there was a discussion with the head of the Brazilian Army’s parliamentary advisory, General Emílio Vanderlei Ribeiro, on this 4th (April 29, 2026).
Opposition leaders, like Corporal Gilberto Silva himself, have what they call “persecution of conservative military personnel”.
The group’s assessment is that there is alignment between the Army leadership and the Federal Supreme Court to silence military personnel and low-ranking officers who disagree with the current administration. For this reason, van Hattem told General Emílio that Commander Tomás Paiva “follows orders from Alexandre de Moraes”.
See the moment of the discussion followed by the deputy’s statement about the case (2min12s).
The episode was considered an attempt at intimidation by the head of the parliamentary staff. It resulted in a request for his removal, in a note published by the leader of the Opposition in the Chamber, deputy (PL-PB). Here is the request (PDF 37 kB).
The discussion, in the corridors of the Chamber, was during the last meeting of the Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee. In a video shared on social media, General Emílio Ribeiro came to the defense of the Army commander.
Said that Tomás Paiva “it’s not loose” and that I would go with him “for war“. In response, he reaffirms the statement: “The commander is weak. If you defend someone who is weak, you are also weak. I’m sorry“, these.
In a statement, the leader of the Opposition in the Chamber of Deputies defined the fact as extremely serious and absolutely incompatible with the Rule of Law. “It is unacceptable for a member of the Armed Forces to constrain, pressure or attempt to restrict the performance of a parliamentarian in the full exercise of his mandate”, he stated.
“Given the seriousness of the facts, the Leader of the Opposition demands the immediate removal of General Emílio Vanderlei Ribeiro from his duties in the Army’s parliamentary advisory service, until the incident has been fully investigated. We reaffirm that Parliament is a space for free expression, debate and oversight, and any attempt to intimidate representatives elected by the Brazilian people will not be tolerated.”, concluded the demonstration.
