A military crisis was triggered in March 2021 when Brazil's highest military officials resigned in response to President Jair Bolsonaro's attempts to politicize the Armed Forces. Since the beginning of his government, Bolsonaro has appointed an unprecedented amount of military personnel to civilian positions, seeking to receive, in exchange, support from the military, including through public demonstrations in favor of his government's policies and against the measures adopted by the governors to confront the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to advocating the decree of the State of Defense, as a way to increase its powers.