MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil consolidates defence and military links with Argentina and Uruguay

Former magistrate, Defence minister Nelson Jobim

Brazilian Defence minister Nelson Jobim begins this week a tour of neighbouring Mercosur partners where he is scheduled to sign a statement underlining the strategic relation with Argentina, and further on Uruguay’s interest in military cooperation and equipment.

According to Argentine sources the joint declaration reaffirms the “importance of the strategic relation between both countries” and is the continuation of what was agreed during the recent presidential summit of Dilma Rousseff with Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Buenos Aires.

Following talks with Argentine minister Arturo Puricelli, Jobim will visit the Tandanor and the CINAR shipyard complex, to see various naval workshops.

One in particular will be that of Admiral Storni, where they currently run construction of the centre.

In Uruguay the former magistrate and brainchild of Unasur defence council will be meeting his counterpart Luis Rosadilla and later President Jose Mujica.

Uruguay is interested in signing agreements with Brazil for the financing and purchase of defence equipment as well as a review of the current defence cooperation agreement.

Joint naval exercises in the South Atlantic as well as the establishment in Uruguay of a plant to manufacture spares and parts for the Brazilian air industry are also included in the agenda to be addressed by Jobim and Rosadilla.

Mr. Jobim has been defence minister since 2007 and was confirmed by the current administration of President Dilma Rousseff.

However the latest news from Brasilia indicate that Mr. Jobim could be stepping down in the next six months following differences over the bidding process for the acquisition of 36 fighter bombers for the Brazilian Air Force.

Apparently former president Lula da Silva and Jobim had agreed that the several billion US dollars contract should be granted to France’s Dassault Rafale, thus leaving out the US bid from Boeing and Sweden’s Saab Grippen.

However President Rousseff decided to again review the three offers.

The decision was allegedly linked to the recent visit to Brazil of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and of former Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain.

Furthermore President Rousseff has opened the door for a review of guerrilla events in Brazil dating back to the sixties and seventies, which left tens of disappeared in combat or captured by the Army.

At the time Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship (1964/1985) and Ms Rousseff was a student belonging to a guerrilla support group.

Under former president Lula da Silva a similar attempt was frustrated by Jobim and the commanders of the three services who threatened to resign, if the 1979 military regime self-approved amnesty bill which protects all police and military personnel from prosecution for any human rights’ violations was lifted.

Jobim “will consider the hypothesis of his departure from government during this semester”, said friends of Mr Jobim from the judiciary branch quoted by the financial newspaper “Valor Economico”.

“The minister does not agree that a review of bids is necessary”, said the sources.