Minister smokes vape and disrupts broadcast with Freixo – 09/14/2023 – Mônica Bergamo

The Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino, drew attention and caused a stir this Thursday morning (14) for his behavior during a press conference.

Embratur (Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion), which is chaired by Marcelo Freixo and is linked to Sabino’s portfolio, called on the press to participate in the launch of the Tourism Data Panel.

Sabino and Freixo were the two main speakers at the presentation. The minister, however, arrived late to the virtual meeting and began his participation while still in a car. Instead of formal attire, Sabino wore a t-shirt.

When beginning his speech, the minister chose to address topics beyond what had been proposed at the press conference.

He refuted, for example, the association of his name with the center, saying that the main objective of his political group’s participation in the government is to contribute “to the minimization of ideological extremes”.

His cell phone camera remained on as he walked to the ministry’s headquarters in Brasília. Once in his office, the minister used an electronic cigarette, also known as a vape, and talked to other people who were around him. The interruptions even hindered journalists from asking questions.

Sabino’s behavior caused discomfort among journalists who were following the press conference and caught the attention of civil servants, who asked the minister to turn off his personal cell phone, according to reports made to the column.

Even the details of the Tourism Data Panel, in charge of Freixo, ended up compromised due to the distractions generated by Sabino.

The tool was developed by Embratur in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and the Federal Police to gather information about the entry of foreign tourists into the country and the financial transactions made by them. The idea is to provide more transparency to the data, which can be used by public managers, civil society and journalists.

A federal deputy elected by Pará and affiliated with União Brasil, Sabino took office in July this year, replacing former Minister of Tourism Daniela Carneiro.

The choice was part of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) strategy to improve his relationship with União Brasil and guarantee the party’s votes in the Chamber of Deputies.

The minister was one of the enthusiasts of Arthur Lira’s (PP-AL) campaign for the presidency of the Chamber, in 2021, having contradicted his own party at the time, the PSDB, which embarked on the candidacy of Baleia Rossi (MDB).

Since then, he has gained prominent roles at the hands of Lira, such as rapporteur for the reform of Income Tax rules, in 2021, and the presidency of the Mixed Congressional Budget Committee, in 2022.

In this last position, he was one of Lira’s main assistants in managing and distributing the so-called rapporteur’s amendments, the main instrument used by the president of the Chamber to ensure support for his surroundings and the then government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

_{with BIANKA VIEIRA, KARINA MATIAS It is MANOELLA SMITH}

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