Lula government profile mocks Carlos Bolsonaro for PF operation

This Monday (29), the official profile of the federal government mocked the Federal Police (PF) operation against the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), councilman Carlos Bolsonaro (Republicanos-RJ). The councilor was the target of the operation on suspicion of having received data collected illegally by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin).

In the middle of the afternoon, after a few hours of repercussion about the case on social media, the federal government’s Instagram page published what would be guidance to the population on the importance of welcoming community health agents.

However, the message says, in an ambiguous tone, for people not to be afraid “when community agents knock on their door”. The post is illustrated with a hand knocking on a door accompanied by the following text: “Knock, knock, knock…”.

Several followers linked the post to the operation against Carlos Bolsonaro and praised the “idea”. The government’s profiles on social media are managed by the Secretariat of Social Communication (Secom), headed by Minister Paulo Pimenta.

In his profile on the social network X, Pimenta said that critics of the publication reason “in a traditional analog language” and do not understand “the role of algorithms in windows of opportunities and flows”.

“It’s as if there’s a high-speed train passing by. If I stay in front, I’ll be run over. If I get on board, I travel at the speed of the train, and I carry my message with me. The main message is dengue, the train is the agenda of the day. That’s how it works. The rest is speculation and an attempt to take the focus away from what is central and relevant at this moment”, wrote the minister.

Publication violates the principle of impersonality

Wanted by People’s Gazette to comment on the content of the publication, the president of the National Association for the Protection of Law and Citizenship (Anpac), lawyer Isabela Bueno, said that the government’s post violates the principle of impersonality.

“The principle of impersonality, provided for in article 37 of the Federal Constitution, prevents public agents from using their positions and functions for their own advantage and self-promotion. When the government, through its institutional page, uses the space to mock political opponents who have suffered police operations by the Federal Police, it creates insecurity regarding the impartiality of the operation itself, given that the Minister of Justice is the direct superior of the PF”, stated the lawyer.

“Furthermore, the attack is notoriously political, aiming to disqualify an opponent, making political use of a government institutional page and diverting the administrative purpose, which must always focus on the public interest”, added Bueno.

Militants and the press shared fake news about the operation

After the launch of the Federal Police (PF) operation, members of the PT, PSOL and other rival politicians of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) shared two false news reports released by a press vehicle.

The former president’s son was the target of the operation on suspicion of having received data collected illegally by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin). One of the search locations was Carlos Bolsonaro’s office at the Rio de Janeiro City Council, where a computer and documents were seized.

The operation also carried out warrants in Angra dos Reis (RJ), where the Bolsonaro family resides. The former president and family were boating in the morning and returned to the residence around 11:30 am to monitor the execution of the warrants.

When reporting the case, the anchor of the Conexão GloboNews program, Daniela Lima, said she had confirmed with an anonymous PF source that an Abin computer in the possession of Carlos Bolsonaro had been seized.

A few hours after making several statements against the councilor for allegedly possessing the equipment, Daniela Lima acknowledged that the information had not been officially confirmed by the PF.

In fact, Abin’s equipment would have been seized from a military man’s house in Bahia and not from the councilor. The soldier is married to an Abin employee and has no ties to Carlos Bolsonaro.

Although the information was denied late this Friday morning (29), the headline published by Daniela on her G1 blog, even after being changed, continued to suggest, without evidence, a link between the seized equipment and the councilman Carlos Bolsonaro. The broadcaster only acknowledged the “error” at the end of the afternoon.

The GloboNews anchor also said that the former president and his children left the place by boat after the PF arrived. Shortly after making the statement live, the journalist asks to show images from the scene that show PF agents leaving the family home with the former president and the councilor following the operation.

According to lawyer and family friend, Fabio Wajngarten, the former president, his children and friends went fishing at 5 am, therefore, well before the start of the PF operation. The version was confirmed by former president Bolsonaro.

The first version presented by the GloboNews journalist, however, has fueled leftist activism on social media.