The race for command of the São Paulo Military Bureau, a recreational club where São Paulo’s soldiers trade their uniforms and boots for swimming trunks and flip-flops by the pool, has become a war between two generals vying for the presidency. Between accusations of a coup d’état and the use of machines, playing “outside the four lines” and the assessment that military circles have turned Venezuela around, 10,000 soldiers and their spouses will have the right to vote in their paper cells only on Sunday (11/16), thanks to a court decision.
Former 2nd Army Division Commander Eduardo Diniz, who served as Circle President for two terms from 2020 to 2024, has been stripped of the ticket of his former ally and former Chief of Staff of the Southeastern Command, Brigadier General Manoel Morata Almeida, by the current government. Thus, the two generals held the highest positions in São Paulo’s army.
Dinis served as president from 2020 to 2024, and although he was elected with the support of a rival, his full powers were challenged on the grounds that he had breached his contract with the club from 2018 to 2022. Dinis claims he was never informed of the debt. This is believed to be due to the fact that he did not notify the Army Reserve when he enlisted, resulting in changes to his membership qualifications and monthly stipend. Not even when he knew the debt could be against him and tried to pay it.
“What happened lasted three-and-a-half years. It was a registration difference and payments that should have been requested were not requested. When I found out everything, I paid what I owed,” Diniz said in the video. “That information was used in the election and was kept for the purpose of contesting my election.”
The club is adjacent to the Ibirapuera headquarters, where the 2nd Army Division and the South-Eastern Command are located, and is so connected to the barracks that the Commander-in-Chief of the South-Eastern Command is also automatically the honorary president of the circle. The general was elected president for the first time in 2010 as the supreme authority over the military in the southeast.
After serving as president for two four-year terms and serving as an advisor to General Dinis of the Army’s 2nd Division, he endorsed the former secretary as a presidential candidate in 2020. These were uncontested elections, held on a single ticket, voted with the applause of a small number of MPs, including the one who re-elected Mr Morata in 2024 after his second term.
However, this year the group split up.
For the first time in years, the Circle was the scene of real election disputes: business plans, professional digital marketing, campaign events and people walking around wearing T-shirts with voting numbers on them. And the accusation: “Despite what has been agreed between the candidates and recorded in the minutes, what we observe is that the structure of the club is routinely used in favor of the current candidate. There is overlap in responsibilities, positions and candidates. There is confusion between what is institutional and what is electoral. It is a clear and deliberate confusion,” Candidate 1 of Dinis complained.
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The atmosphere was already full of war-like air last week when the deliberative council met in secret and decided to disqualify opposition tickets that claimed deliberations had taken place “outside the four lines,” an apparent reference to a phrase often used by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
“This is a flawed and undemocratic act that violates the basic principles of the right to know the accusers and the nature of the accusations, contradictions that guarantee a room for rebuttal, and broad defense that guarantees access to evidence and information,” the group said, also sharing messages it received from its members, including “Bianvenidos a Venezura,” which likened the Circulo military state to the Maduro dictatorship.
Amid the belligerent atmosphere at the military club, the ruling party on Tuesday (November 11) received support from Vice Mayor Col. Melo Araujo (PL), who announced his vote for General Morata. The next day, the club issued a statement announcing that an advisory committee had decided on the opposition’s appeal and dismissed the claim. Therefore, the situation is such that Sunday’s election will be held on one ticket. Comments were not allowed on this post on Instagram.
This Thursday (11/13), the court decided to immediately halt the impeachment and granted a preliminary injunction guaranteeing the participation of Dinis’ ticket in next Sunday’s elections. He also ordered the deletion of posts announcing ticket cancellations.
“The election process will be carried out in accordance with the bylaws and the deliberations of the council responsible for decisions regarding elections,” the São Paulo Military Circle said in a note to the column. “The Circle will provide the court with all requested information in accordance with due legal procedures. By procedural regulations, the São Paulo Military Circle does not comment on ongoing legal actions and reaffirms its commitment to the legality, transparency and regularity of the electoral process,” the club said.
Brigadier General Manoel Morata Almeida was contacted in a column by the club’s secretary but did not return the call. The space remains open.
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