The army, tired of guarding the German, wants to leave now.

247_Defense Minister Celso Amorim is about to pick a serious fight with Rio de Janeiro. According to the newspaper Valor, in an article published this Monday, the minister wants, to the despair of Governor Sérgio Cabral – and the people of Rio – to withdraw the 1,6 soldiers occupying Morro do Alemão, in Rio. The matter has been handled discreetly within the government, but it is far from being a unanimous decision. High-ranking army officers are reportedly pressuring Amorim for the withdrawal of the troops, but President Dilma has already committed to Governor Sérgio Cabral to maintain the troops until 2012. Other factions within the Armed Forces argue that the soldiers should maintain activities outside the barracks.

Behind the troop withdrawal is a discomfort among the military regarding the proximity of the soldiers to the drug traffickers, whose presence, although residual, is still perceived in the favela. "The army needs to leave Alemão soon," says a high-ranking military officer. "There's no dialogue with drug traffickers." But that's not all. The high costs involved in the operation are also a concern. Since November 2010, when the military arrived in Alemão, the Army has already spent almost R$ 300 million, equivalent to half of the 2011 budget for modernizing the force, and could reach R$ 500 million by 2012.

The early withdrawal of the military could be detrimental to the government's plan to carry out social work in Alemão and implement the UPP (Pacifying Police Unit), scheduled for March. Alemão, a group of thirteen favelas nestled in the North Zone of Rio, with 65 inhabitants, is considered one of the most violent areas in Rio.