Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro made six Cabinet changes on Monday in the biggest ministerial reshuffle since he took office. Three ministers left the government, including Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo, a China hawk whose departure followed mounting criticism from lawmakers of his failure to guarantee additional COVID-19 vaccine supplies from Beijing and Washington. There had been no advance word of Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva’s exit or rumors of discontent. “During this time, I preserved the Armed Forces as institutions of state,” Azevedo e Silva wrote in a ministry statement. “I leave in the certainty of a mission accomplished.” In his place, Bolsonaro appointed his current chief of staff, Walter Souza Braga Netto, one of several former army generals who had moved into the government’s inner orbit. Another former general, Luiz Eduardo Ramos, will take over as chief of staff, leaving his Cabinet-level post handling legislative priorities to Flavia Arruda, …
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