Codevasf irrigates associations of relatives of politicians – 7/9/2023 – Power

The federal state company Codevasf has favored associations linked to politicians’ relatives with the delivery of vehicles and agricultural machinery in the first months of President Lula’s (PT) government.

Among the equipment is a drilling rig valued at more than R$ 2 million. The purchase of the machines takes place through resources from the so-called parliamentary amendments. The deputy or senator indicates the private entity to be benefited, and Codevasf takes care of the purchase and delivery of the equipment.

Codevasf was created to take care of irrigation projects in the semi-arid region, but the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government turned it into a kind of “politicians’ shop”, whereby congressmen use amendments to order machines and paving works and direct them to their electoral strongholds.

The model follows the same under Lula, with the difference that there is a higher proportion of donations to private entities and less to city halls, thus increasing the risk of irregularities.

In Minas Gerais, for example, the Intermunicipal Consortium for the Development and Promotion of the Jequitinhonha, Rio Pardo, Mucuri and Adjacência River Basins received the most expensive donation made by Codevasf in the first quarter of 2023.

It is a drilling rig coupled to a truck, which is used to drill artesian wells, worth R$ 2.4 million.

The political godfather of the equipment donated to the consortium of municipalities was federal deputy Igor Timo (Podemos-MG). Who received the donation was his uncle and mayor of Virgen da Lapa, Diógenes Timo Silva (Podemos-MG).

When the equipment was delivered, on January 23, the uncle also held the position of president of the awarded consortium. In videos published on his social networks, the deputy claims that he was responsible for allocating the drill along with former senator and now Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira.

“This acquisition is yet another achievement of our mandate in joint work with Senator Alexandre Silveira, to mitigate a chronic problem in the region, the drought that for years has been punishing our people to have access to drinking water”, wrote the deputy.

On social media, deputy Igor Timo also praised his uncle’s management for “doing a brilliant job in municipal management”.

The office of the mayor of Virgo da Lapa told the Sheet that Timo is no longer president of the consortium since May and that the city is no longer a consortium member either.

Deputy Igor Timo said, in a note, that consortia have become an important tool for bringing dignity to communities. “The fact that a member in question was part of the consortium was a coincidence, as it had already exercised the municipal election two years before the parliamentarian had political pretensions.”

Beneficiary entities are close to centrão leaders.

In Santaluz, a municipality with 37,000 inhabitants in the interior of Bahia, for example, Codevasf donated a truck to the Associação de Moradores da Fazenda Lagoa Nova through an amendment by federal deputy Elmar Nascimento (União Brasil), political sponsor of the president of the state-owned company.

The association is presided over by Keise Suzart, daughter of councilor Mário Sérgio Suzart, current president of Santaluz City Council and one of Elmar’s main allies in the city.

Keise stated that the truck “is being put to good use” in transporting agricultural equipment and water tanks to rural communities in the region.

She claims that the donation of equipment was not mediated by her father and says she does not see any conflicts.

“Since I was young I’ve been concerned about the people, I believe in associativism and cooperativism. I don’t see any conflict in receiving benefits to help people. […] My father is a correct politician who dedicates his mandate to helping communities.”

The delivered machines and vehicles end up weighing on the local political game, whether benefiting groups linked to the situation or the opposition in the cities.

In Bahia, the Colony of Fishermen and Aquacultors Z-15, in Valença, won a backhoe. At its headquarters, the walls are adorned with photographs of federal deputy Raimundo Costa (Podemos-BA), author of the amendment responsible for the donation.

He has a symbiotic relationship with the colony: he was president of the entity, a position that raised him to a chair in the Valença City Council in 1988. He was re-elected for five consecutive terms with the support of the fishermen until he became federal deputy in 2018.

The colony is currently commanded by Maria das Graças Santos, an ally of Costa who was at the Codevasf headquarters in Juazeiro to pick up the backhoe and published a video thanking the deputy for the amendment.

The entity also has strong influence from Councilman Ryan Costa, son of Raimundo. He has no formal position in the colony, but he says he acts as a project manager and is responsible for managing the machines donated by Codevasf, which include a bucket truck.

Ryan denies political use of the machines, although in practice they bolster opposition in the city.

The councilor criticizes the management of Mayor Jairo Baptista (PP), says that there is ineffectiveness of the city hall in the execution of fishing projects and that the colony has filled this gap. “It’s not a political dispute, it’s a dispute about making public policy.”

In Pernambuco, in the city of Brejão, the machine ended up in the hands of people close to the political group in power. There, the Association of Farmers of Sítio Mamoeiro received a Mitsubishi L200 pickup truck valued at R$ 235,000 from Codevasf.

The entity is chaired by João Marcone Florentino de Barros, brother of the deputy mayor of Brejão (PE), Saulo Florentino de Barros (MDB).

A Sheet João Marcone stated that the vehicle is used in association negotiations. He says that his brother did not intervene in the request, but that he and associates made it directly to Federal Deputy Fernando Rodolfo (PL).

The deputy said that the entity provides relevant services and that the donation follows legal precepts.

“I don’t see, therefore, a conflict of interests, after all, parliamentary amendments are resources guaranteed to deputies and senators to allocate to their states, with free choice, serving the public interest”, he said, in a note.

Created about two years ago, the Beneficent and Agropastoral Unit of Farmers at Lagoa do Barro Farm, in Santa Maria da Boa Vista (PE), is formally presided over by the mother of councilor Gildo Gás (PSB), and received a backhoe in February .

The machine was financed with an amendment by deputy Augusto Coutinho (Republicanos-PE), an ally of the councilor.

Sought after, Gildo Gás said that his mother has already left the direction of the entity and denied that the delivery of the machine has configured a favor to a relative. According to the councilor, the equipment is being used according to the social interest of the communities.

Deputy Augusto Coutinho stated that he did not know that the entity was presided over by the mother of his ally and that he intended the amendment to meet the needs of the population of Santa Maria da Boa Vista.

OTHER SIDE: Company says donations are made after technical analysis

Codevasf stated that the donations “serve the social interest” and are preceded by analyzes of technical suitability, legal compliance and socioeconomic convenience.

The state-owned company stated that the donations are made to legal entities and not to its members. “The formal requirements required for the donation concern the legal personality of the benefited associations. Thus, the fact that their representatives or members eventually have party affiliation or are part of a business society does not characterize a legal impediment to the donation of goods to the associations”, says the company .

The company also claims to analyze the results achieved and “doesn’t measure efforts to ensure the proper use of goods”.

The report was produced in partnership with Google from collections of documents published in the Pinpoint tool, access here.