Alexandre Padilha minimizes Damares’ allegations

In a video published on social media, this Friday (23), President Lula’s (PT) Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, minimized reports of sexual exploitation of children and trafficking of minors on Marajó Island, no stop.

Furthermore, the minister cited “suspicions” of misuse of resources by the Ministry of Human Rights during the Bolsonaro administration, when the department was commanded by the current senator, Damares Alves (Republicanos-DF).

The allegations gained national attention for the first time in October 2022, when Damares spoke publicly about the topic. This week, the subject returned to the news due to the repercussion of a song by singer Aymeê entitled “Evangelho de fariseus”.

At the time he made the allegations, Damares was the target of attacks from politicians and artists who tried to discredit the allegations.

“There is a Bolsonaro minister who is now a senator, who in her Ministry invented several programs, talked about several programs, used a lot of money, even with suspicions of the use of these resources, and who today comes to talk about Marajó”, said Padilha when asking “influencers” to research programs created during the Lula government to serve the population of Marajó which, according to the minister, was used “in a utilitarian way” under the Bolsonaro government.

“There are many serious problems of exclusion, lack of rights, difficulty in accessing the territory, of development projects, but a lot of potential and a lot of things being done well by listening to the population and not listening to people from far away who are often only concerned about raise resources for who knows what to do in the Marajó region”, added the minister by calling everyone who endorses the complaints made by Senator Damares “prejudiced”.

For Padilha, many of the complaints are based on “suspicious videos” with images from other places to “try to sell an idea” about the Marajó region.

As reported by People’s Gazettecases of prostitution and pedophilia in Marajó have been investigated since 2006.