Ministers fly from FAB to agendas and mend weekend – 05/19/2023 – Power

Ministers of the Lula government (PT) used FAB (Brazilian Air Force) aircraft at least 82 times to make trips (round trip) from Brasília to the cities where they are domiciled on the eve of weekends and holidays.

Some of them book appointments on the last days of the week in these places. And they end up returning only on Mondays.

Fernando Haddad (Finance), Luiz Marinho (Labor) and Nísia Trindade (Health), for example, have made it routine to ship orders on Fridays in the cities where they live.

Ministers of State are entitled to use FAB aircraft, provided that these trips meet certain requirements.

The most recent decree that regulates the subject, edited in 2020 by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), restricted travel requests due to medical emergencies, security or business travel.

In the current government, ministers began to set agendas in their cities on Fridays, thus justifying the journeys on official planes. These commitments include lectures at universities, meetings with allied politicians, inauguration of state works, inauguration ceremonies of class and professional entities and meetings with businessmen.

The specialist in administrative law Fernando Carvalho Dantas warns that the analysis of the agendas is the central point to determine if there is a deviation in the use of the public good. He adds that travel on FAB aircraft needs a “purpose, commitments that are relevant to the position”.

Professor André Rosilho, of administrative law at FGV-SP, avoided talking about specific cases, but stressed the importance of being aware of possible “manufactured commitments”.

“In principle, there is no manifest illegality, but it is important to observe long-term behavior. Perhaps you need to observe whether the commitments are in fact indispensable or just manufactured for convenience,” he said.

IDP administrative law professor Antonio Rodrigo Machado argues that the State should take into account the displacement of ministers to their regions, in view of their personal sacrifice, but that this does not mean that it should bear the costs “in an unreasonable and No Boundaries”.

“The use of duplicate FAB flights over the weekend, with one plane to go and another to return, may indicate an expenditure of public money that is not in line with the constitutional principles of Public Administration […]. If the agenda was set up to guarantee this prerogative, the case is even more sensitive because the purpose deviation could be defined”, he says.

“FAB aircraft should be used as an exception only when security situations so require or when there is a benefit to the authority’s public agenda”, he adds.

Haddad is the one who most uses FAB aircraft to travel from Brasília to São Paulo in periods that include the weekend. There were 23 trips on those days, between January and the first week of May.

The minister began to maintain the habit of dispatching items on Fridays in the capital of São Paulo, at Treasury offices. Therefore, he usually leaves on Thursday night and returns the following Monday to Brasília.

“Considering that the most important financial and economic center in Latin America is located in São Paulo, many official appointments are scheduled in that city. It is worth mentioning that all official appointments, including those scheduled outside the capital, are included in the minister’s public agenda “, informed the ministry.

The commitments involve meetings with representatives of the chemical and steel industries, with members of the financial market, with bank presidents, meetings with academics from USP, among others.

On Friday, March 3, the minister traveled to the capital of São Paulo in the afternoon, where he held a meeting organized by the CUT (Central Única dos Trabalhadores). He spent the weekend in the city and returned on a new FAB flight to Brasília on Monday.

CUT representatives often go to the federal capital. This year alone, they have already participated in events in Planalto, had a meeting with Lula in Alvorada and were received by Minister Luiz Marinho.

On the other hand, because he was away, Haddad had to resort to a teleconference on the 5th of this month with his colleague from Esplanada Carlos Fávaro (Agriculture) to discuss resources for the Safra Plan.

Another minister who uses FAB flights to go to his home region on weekends is Luiz Marinho, who is from São Bernardo do Campo (SP). He has traveled 13 times between Brasília and São Paulo since January.

In Greater São Paulo, he has already visited the regional labor superintendence on the eve of weekends, had a meeting with representatives of the call centers, a meeting with entities of rubber workers and the federation of CUT chemists.

On March 24, the minister traveled to São Paulo on a FAB plane, returning on Monday. However, there are no events on your calendar.

The ministry’s advisory states that the government system suffered instability and, therefore, only partially recorded Marinho’s agenda that day. It alleges that he had a meeting with the president of the Metallurgist Union of Osasco and Region.

On another trip with no published schedule and close to the weekend, between the 13th and 16th of January, the folder argues that the use of the FAB plane was due to security reasons, “in view of the acts of the 8th of January , in the Praça dos Três Poderes, in Brasilia”.

The Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, in turn, used FAB planes at least 11 times for trips between Brasília and Rio de Janeiro, in periods close to weekends.

Nísia also devotes Friday to official commitments in the city where she has a home. He attends events at Fiocruz, the entity he chaired between 2017 and 2022, seminars at universities and hospitals, sessions of the local Legislative Assembly, meetings with the PT bench, in addition to events in the health area.

The ministry informed in a note that it strictly complies with the decree that disciplines the use of FAB planes. He adds that the flights from Nísia “refer to official agendas to address issues related to his work in front of the portfolio with a focus on strengthening the SUS (Unified Health System)”.

The Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, spent seven weekends in São Luís, traveling back and forth to Brasília on Aeronautics flights.

There were 16 journeys between the two cities. For the most part, Dino had no official agendas, unlike his peers. One of the few commitments he had was a meeting with Governor Carlos Orleans Brandão Junior (PSB), his political ally.

The Ministry of Justice cited security reasons for the use of aircraft, “in view of the constant threats and attacks suffered by the Honorable Minister, which gave rise to reinforcement of police escort and determination of maximum security”. The portfolio argues that the threats and aggressions are registered and are being investigated by police agencies.

The Planalto Palace was contacted for comment on the matter, but said it would let the ministers themselves explain the use of FAB aircraft.