Domingos Brazão says he is not “politically allied” with Bolsonaro

After being named as the alleged mastermind behind the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes, counselor at the Rio de Janeiro State Court of Auditors (TCE-RJ) Domingos Brazão denied the accusations and claimed that he did not know Marielle in an interview with UOL News this Wednesday (24). He also removed any closeness between himself and former president Jair Bolsonaro

“I didn’t know and I don’t remember councilor Marielle Franco, not even as an advisor to the [Marcelo] Ash. I don’t remember her presence in the plenary. Unfortunately, I heard a lot about her when this tragic incident happened to her and her advisor. I had no personal relationship with them. And in relation to the characters Roni Lessa and Elcio Queiroz, I didn’t know them”, Brazão declared to UOL.

When asked about the possibility of being an ally of former president Jair Bolsonaro, Brazão denied any proximity. Since the beginning of the investigations, left-wing political activists have tried to link Bolsonaro and people around him to Marielle’s death.

“I was a councilor with Rogéria Bolsonaro [ex-mulher de Jair Bolsonaro], then I was a deputy for a few years, then Flávio Bolsonaro arrived. I know President Bolsonaro. I am not, therefore, close to the president, nor politically allied with the president, but I know President Bolsonaro, I know his family,” said Brazão.

The advisor also commented on the granting of a diplomatic passport that would have been given by Bolsonaro to a family member of his. “It’s not Bolsonaro who gives it, it’s the prerogative of the federal deputy. He has this prerogative and the family of all 513 deputies, if they request a diplomatic passport, have the right too,” he said.

In relation to the investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, which named Brazão as one of the suspects amid the federalization of the Marielle case in 2020, the counselor stated that he “will seek appropriate reparations”. “I did not take any action because the case was not closed. I will seek the relevant forum for reparations at the time. It is my right as a citizen. We will analyze everything that is subject to reparation”, he declared.

Brazão also said that he did not have access to the records and denied any possibility of a “plot” to harm him. He reinforced the note from the Federal Police stating that the investigations have still been ongoing “for around eleven months” – since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) ordered a task force – and that the investigation remains confidential without a date. scheduled for closure.

“Yesterday, the Federal Police made an official note saying that this is not true. I did not have access and I believe that this [Lessa ter citado o nome de Brazão] not be true. If so, the PF will be faced with another crime, which is the intention of this citizen, this marginal, to want to protect someone or receive some benefits”, said Brazão.

Who is Domingos Brazão?

Domingos Brazão, 58 years old, was a state deputy in Rio de Janeiro, for the MDB, for five consecutive terms. He has already been involved in many controversies and was the target of suspicions of corruption, which caused him to be removed and then returned to the position of advisor to the TCE-RJ.

In 2017, he and four other advisors were temporarily arrested in Operation Quinto do Ouro, an offshoot of Lava Jato in Rio.

Brazão is also appointed as leader of a powerful political group in the west zone of Rio, the birthplace of Rio’s militias. He has already responded to accusations of administrative improbity, fraud, the fuel mafia and involvement with militias to buy votes and form an electoral corral.