Communications minister to be sacked if facing charges

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday promised to fire Communications Minister Juscelino Filho if federal prosecutors press charges against him for corruption.

“[I told him] if the prosecutor charges you, you know you have to change position,” Lula said during an interview with the news website Uol. “To me, everybody is innocent until proven otherwise.”

Two weeks ago, the Federal Police recommended that prosecutors bring forth corruption, money laundering, and criminal association charges against Mr. Filho. He is accused of illegally directing money from congressional budgetary earmarks to a city governed by his sister while serving as a congressman. 

The Federal Police also recommended charges against his sister, Luanna Rezende, who is serving her second term as mayor of Vitorino Freire in the northeastern state of Maranhão.

The decision now rests with the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, led by Paulo Gonet, who was nominated by Lula. If prosecutors decide to press charges, the Supreme Court will then determine whether to accept them and make Mr. Filho a defendant.

The communications minister has denied any wrongdoing, calling the Federal Police’s recommendation “a political and predictable move that is part of an investigation that distorted premises [and] ignored facts.”

Mr. Filho also suggested that his right to due process had been violated, claiming that federal agents questioned him for only 15 minutes and asked no “relevant questions.”

Mr. Filho’s tenure at the Communications Ministry has been surrounded by bad press from the beginning. Early in 2023, the press revealed that he attended a horse auction on the public dime. At the time, Lula stated that Mr. Filho would not be able to stay in the government if he did not “prove his innocence.” 

Also last year, a Supreme Court justice reportedly froze BRL 835,000 (USD 151,000) in assets belonging to Juscelino Filho as part of an investigation into bid-rigging, embezzlement, and money laundering.

Despite the numerous accusations, Mr. Filho has managed to keep his job. He is a member of União Brasil, a right-wing party that holds 58 of the House’s 513 seats and seven of the Senate’s 81 seats.

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