Husband of Minister of Tourism fired who did not support Lula – 01/28/2023 – Politics

Former employees of the City Hall of Belford Roxo, in Rio de Janeiro, claim to have been dismissed by the mayor of the city, Wagner Carneiro, or Waguinho (União Brasil), for refusing to support Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in the second round of elections. He is the husband of the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Carneiro (União Brasil).

At least five former civil servants report having been dismissed by Waguinho or not having received a salary as of October, after going against their bosses’ instructions to go to after-hours rallies or because of content posted on the internet.

They show timesheets with days worked and prints of message groups with charges for attending political events, pointing out that other acquaintances would have gone through the same situation, but were afraid to talk to the Sheet.

Daniela and Waguinho are among the few leaders who openly supported Lula in Baixada Fluminense. The nomination of Daniela, re-elected federal deputy, as a reward for that, in addition to a way of contemplating União Brasil and expanding the female presence in government.

They campaigned in the city in the last three elections, from 2018 to 2022, alongside at least four accused of being part of the local militia, in a hostile and armed climate. One of them is convicted ex-PM Juracy Alves Prudêncio, known as Jura, whose family maintains ties with the couple, as shown by Sheet. Two others remain in the positions of municipal secretaries.

When contacted, the City Hall of Belford Roxo stated that the dismissals occurred because the management “created a new administrative structure, already approved by the City Council”. He also said that “if any civil servant attended any candidate’s political event, it was of their own free will”.

Reports about this type of requirement had already been reported by RJ2, from TV Globo, and were also investigated in the couple’s 2018 campaign, in an archived process, according to the Metrópoles portal.

According to former employees heard about the 2022 campaign, people in leadership positions at the municipal secretariats made lists of who went to the then candidate’s rallies, demanded photos of them in these places and monitored their social networks. There were also personal threats of dismissal by phone and text.

Teacher Simone Paula Oliveira, 48, says she received her last salary on September 20, before the first shift. After teaching for the entire month of October, she no longer saw the money drop into her account. He went to the city hall to collect, but she found out that his contract had been cancelled.

“I was canceled because I supported [Jair] Bolsonaro and I didn’t go to the meetings they forced me to go to. They said: ‘If not, the name will be noted and he will be exonerated'”, says she, who also worked directly in Waguinho’s offices from 2015 to 2020, while he was a state deputy and then mayor.

Four other former servants who did not want to be identified narrate the same facts, which occurred, in addition to the Education portfolio, in Health.

They claim they have no doubt that they were turned off for their political views. Three of them say that, when looking for answers, they heard it from people close to the mayor, including that they were being watched on social media.

In one of the groups, an administrator wrote in October: “Personally, I ask that everyone here in the group be present tomorrow in the center of Belford Roxo, the group was created to support the candidate Lula, unfortunately many of those who are here are not attending. to our group events [sic]”.

“Who can please let’s change the profile of the tel [sic]”, she said in another message, below a montage with photos of Waguinho and Lula. On another day, she wrote: “Always remembering that no one is obliged to go, you have to go from the heart”.

Hours after Lula’s victory, Waguinho climbed onto a platform in Heliópolis square, close to the city center, and spoke: “[Os traidores] they will no longer stay with us. And if you know any Judas, denounce it, because those who didn’t cry with us at the time of the fight, cannot smile with us at the time of victory”.

The people with whom the report spoke were dismissed before a mass exoneration made by the mayor by decree on December 31, determining the departure of all temporary and commissioned employees in the municipality.

Thousands of workers in schools, health units and other services have stopped receiving, except for doctors and dentists. The dismissal generated revolt in the city.

Even without the prospect of receiving a salary, however, most of them continue to work, under the threat of not being rehired in the selection processes that the management opened this month.

According to Professor Oliveira and other former servants, this type of practice has always been common practice in Waguinho’s administrations. “I was exonerated about five times and came back five times. Every year it’s the same thing, taking paper, criminal record. He always paid when he wanted and how much he wanted”, she says.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office of RJ opened an investigation into the mass dismissal and recommended this Wednesday (25) that the mayor hold public tenders to balance the proportion between commissioned and effective positions. The imbalance violates “principles of efficiency, morality and impersonality of public administration”, he says.

In recent days, going in the opposite direction, the city government has readmitted around 400 civil servants by decree, including people who campaigned ostensibly for Daniela, according to a survey by the newspaper Extra.

Sought after, the municipality stated that everyone who provided services until December 31, 2022 has their salaries up to date, including the 13th, and that “readmissions are being carried out according to the needs of each sector”.

He also said that the readmitted employees “are technicians who are directly linked to essential services” and that “they do not have management over the social networks of servers”.

Management did not answer how many people were laid off in October, November and December, nor did it explain why those dismissed continue to work without being paid.

THE Sheet also sent questions to the advisory of Minister Daniela Carneiro, but received no response.