Brazil's Bolsonaro Forced Into Cabinet Reshuffle, Fires Top Diplomat

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reshuffled his Cabinet on Monday amid intense pressure to sack his foreign relations minister whose tenure has been characterized by an anti-globalism bent that made him a lightning rod for critics. 

In addition to replacing foreign minister Ernesto Araújo, the president shifted three other ministers into new positions — chief of staff, defense minister and attorney general. His announcement on Twitter said he also named a new justice and public security minister and government secretary. The statement did not provide any reasons for the changes.  The shake-up underscores recent turmoil for Bolsonaro, who has seen his approval ratings slide this year.   The president in mid-March replaced the health minister whose tenure coincided with most of Brazil's 314,000 COVID-19 deaths and became the target of fierce criticism. In February, Bolsonaro tapped an army general to take over state-run oil behemoth Petrobras, seeking to appeal to his constituency of truck drivers who had threatened to strike over fuel price increases.