criticized for his management of the health crisis, President Jair Bolsonaro reshuffles his government

The announcement caught most observers by surprise, with the only minister expected to leave being the head of diplomacy Ernesto Araujo, 53, fervent admirer of Donald Trump, criticized for having obstructed the importation of vaccines because of his bad relations with China. He was replaced by Carlos Alberto Franco França, a former ambassador qualified as “discreet diplomat” by the Brazilian press.

Three women out of 22 ministers

If the departure of Ernesto Araujo had been in the air for several weeks, this was not the case for Fernando Azevedo e Silva, the Minister of Defense. His replacement was already in the government: it is General Walter Braga Netto, who thus leaves the post of Minister of the Casa Civil, halfway between the functions of Chief of Staff and Prime Minister.

The latter gives up his post to another general, Luiz Eduardo Ramos, replaced by Flavia Arruda at the secretariat of the government. She thus becomes the third woman among the 22 ministers of Jair Bolsonaro. The game of musical chairs also concerns the outgoing Minister of Justice, André Mendonça, whom the far-right Brazilian president has replaced by a former police officer, Anderson Gustavo Torres.