(Bloomberg) -- President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva described his new army chief as someone who shares his views on what the role of Brazil’s military should be.

General Tomas Miguel Ribeiro Paiva took the reins of the army on Saturday after Lula fired his predecessor, who had been in charge of the troops when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro vandalized the nation’s capital two weeks earlier. A video of Paiva saying the result of elections should be respected by all was posted on social media before his appointment by Lula.  

“I had a good conversation with the commander and he agrees with exactly everything I’ve been saying about the armed forces,” Lula told journalists in Buenos Aires after a meeting with Argentina’s Alberto Fernandez. “They don’t exist to serve a politician. They exist to guarantee the sovereignty of our country, especially against external enemies, and to ensure the safety of the Brazilian people,” Lula said.

Read More: Lula’s Ties With Military Are Strained by Crackdown on Rioters

The president is looking to punish people he believes failed to stop the Jan. 8 riots in Brasilia, even at the risk of ruining an already-fragile relationship with the military.

Lula said the military shouldn’t meddle in politics because it belongs to the Brazilian state, not to a government.

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