While in command of the Army he suggested bringing together human rights groups, the Catholic Church and the Army to form a "reconciliation panel" in order to find out the whereabouts of the "desaparecidos". Nevertheless, he was heavily criticised for defending the repression and military illegal actions of the military government, for allegedly protecting the officers involved, and for setting back the reconciliation process that had been started by his predecessor, Martín Balza. Brinzoni courted further controversy when it was revealed that his lawyer during this period, Juan Enrique Torres Bande, was a member of the neo-Nazi New Triumph Party.