Pilloried for his failed stint as Brazil's health minister and caught in the crosshairs of a Senate probe on the pandemic, General Eduardo Pazuello sought refuge last week before a friendly audience at a political rally in Rio de Janeiro.
Analysis-Politicking general puts Bolsonaro at odds with army leaders
By Anthony Boadle
Reuters
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Pilloried for his failed stint as Brazil s health minister and caught in the crosshairs of a Senate probe on the pandemic, General Eduardo Pazuello sought refuge last week before a friendly audience at a political rally in Rio de Janeiro.
With President Jair Bolsonaro s arm draped over his shoulder, the active-duty general and former minister grabbed a microphone and quickly turned his personal crisis into an institutional one.
By violating a ban on politicking by military officers, Pazuello has invited possible punishment from the armed forces or embarrassment for their commanders, say former generals and military scholars.
Already forced to delay the Copa America by a year, organisers are struggling to pull off the world s oldest running international football competition in a region still reeling from COVID-19 and - in the case of original co-hosts Colombia - violent unrest.