Bolsonaro fires head of his Secretariat-General

The ouster of lawyer Gustavo Bebianno Rocha from the post of head of the president’s Secretariat-General was made official today (Feb. 19). Retired General Floriano Peixoto Vieira Neto is expected to take his place.

Yesterday (18), the president’s spokesman Otávio do Rêgo Barros announced the removal of Bebianno and described the president’s decision as intimately made.

Minutes later, a video was released in which Bolsonaro thanks the former top adviser for his collaboration and attributes the move to misunderstandings.

Floriano Peixoto, executive secretary with the president’s Secretariat-General, will take the helm of the government department, which is tasked with the implementation of measures to modernize the government’s administration and further ongoing projects. It is one of the bridges between the presidential palace and society.

Bebianno was the president of Bolsonaro’s Social Liberal Party—the PSL—during his electoral campaign. He is suspected of irregularities in the transfer of campaign funds to candidates in their party.

Last week, he denied any wrongdoing. “I reiterate my unconditional commitment to my country, ethics, the fight against corruption, and the truth above all things,” he said.