Antonov case becomes debate between left and right in SP – 02/05/2023 – Politics

Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) refused to answer about the permanence in the government of the secretary Lucas Ferraz, of International Business, after a confusion involving the portfolio and the Ukrainian company Antonov caused friction between the Palácio dos Bandeirantes and the Lula government ( PT).

This Tuesday (2), in a press interview at the Legislative Assembly, Tarcísio was asked twice about the subject and did not respond. “I’m not going to talk about that today,” he said. Interlocutors of the governor, however, claim that Ferraz should remain in office.

The governor was at the Legislative headquarters to deliver two bills — one that provides for a salary increase for military and civil police and another that establishes the São Paulo minimum wage at R$ 1,550, representing an adjustment of around 20%.

In the opinion of bolsonaristas and even petistas, the resignation of the secretary could signal that Tarcísio would be giving in to the federal government, since Ferraz has become the target of Lula’s ministers who accuse him of manufacturing fake news.

State deputy Gil Diniz (PL), Tarcísio’s ally, said in the Assembly’s gallery that the left wants to overthrow the secretary and said he publicly supports him. “They tried to involve the secretary with a fallacious narrative”, he added.

After the rumors that Ferraz would be replaced, on Friday (28), part of the governor’s assistants consider that the matter has been overcome and clarified – and that, therefore, the secretary will not be fired.

Other allies of Tarcísio, however, claim that the issue is open and that the governor is still investigating the errors and those responsible. The episode could serve as an opportunity for Tarcísio to finally manage to attract businessman Marcos Troyjo to his government, something he would have liked.

On Monday (1st), visiting the Agrishow (International Fair of Agricultural Technology in Action), in Ribeirão Preto (313 km from São Paulo), Tarcísio said that the Antonov case is over and that he went to the fair to talk about agribusiness .

The crisis put the governor under pressure from Bolsonaristas and Lula’s allies. In a call he received from the PT president, as revealed by the column Panel, from the SheetTarcísio tried to explain the episode to Lula.

Also this Tuesday, Tarcísio defended, in an interview with Globonews, Jair Bolsonaro (PL)’s trip to Agrishow, where he was next to the former president. The governor said he considers the trip of João Pedro Stedile, leader of the MST (Landless Rural Workers Movement), to China in Lula’s entourage to be more serious.

The organization of the fair even suggested that Lula’s Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, go to the fair on another date due to Bolsonaro’s presence. Fávaro claimed to have been “uninvited”.

“The fair is a private event. Agrishow itself makes the invitations and anyone can go there. What is the problem with the former president of the Republic going to Agrishow?”, questioned Tarcísio.

“For me, it is less serious for the former President of the Republic to be at Agrishow than for the leader of the MST to be in China with the President of the Republic”, he added.

“I personally called Minister Fávaro and said: ‘Minister, you are very welcome to the state of São Paulo and to Agrishow, and the producers want to know what the Ministry of Agriculture has to say’. […] I spoke with the president [Lula], he called me, and I said ‘no big deal’. I think the minister should go.”

At the fair, Tarcísio claimed to have a republican relationship with the Lula government and said that anyone who invades land in São Paulo will face jail.

The Antonov case broke out last week, after a report by CNN Brasil stated that the Ukrainian company stopped investing US$ 50 billion in Brazil due to Lula’s speeches about the war between Russia and Ukraine, which was pointed out as fake news by PT members. .

CNN Brasil then published a note from the secretariat commanded by Lucas Ferraz, in which the folder claimed to have received representatives from Antonov to address the issue.

The Ukrainian company, however, stated in a note that it does not have representatives in Brazil, leading Lula’s ministers to accuse the São Paulo government of spreading false information to harm the federal government.

On Friday, while PT allies demanded investigation of the case by the Public Ministry, Bolsonarist networks sought to refute the criticism, based on a new CNN report in which a director of Antonov confirms a preliminary negotiation with the Government of São Paulo.

For members of the government, the situation became problematic because it allowed Lula’s ministers to attack Tarcísio. Political exploitation, they say, was decisive for the uneasiness with the secretary to spread in the Palácio dos Bandeirantes.

Behind the scenes, Tarcísio’s assistants see a series of mistakes made by Ferraz, starting with meeting with alleged representatives of Antonov without being sure that they were connected with the company and then releasing a note about the meeting without approval. of government communication.

Although the subject is being minimized by those around Tarcísio, the potential for attrition of the state government remains. This Tuesday, in the plenary of the Assembly, the case became a reason for a clash between Gil Diniz and the leader of the PT, Paulo Fiorilo (PT).

Fiorilo contacted the Public Prosecutor’s Office to find out whether the secretary was acting in bad faith.

“We started to realize that there was a big mistake there and that the Secretary of International Business ended up, in a negative way, contributing to create a fair fight between Ukraine, the Brazilian government and the state government. I sincerely hope that the governor takes the necessary measures so that it doesn’t happen again”, said the PT.

The deputy also pointed out that Antonov’s proposal presented to the Government of São Paulo was signed “by two Brazilians, one from a law firm in the criminal area and another representative”.

Deputy Guilherme Cortez (PSOL) said that he sent a request for information to the São Paulo government to clarify the case, and that the secretary cannot “use his position to spread misinformation”.