MP-SP archives investigations into rural roads program – 09/17/2023 – Panel

Prosecutor Ricardo Manuel Castro, from the State Public Ministry of São Paulo, archived between September 1st and 14th 14 investigation procedures related to accusations made against the Melhor Caminho program, for the construction of rural roads.

The procedures had been initiated after around 350 works had their contracts readjusted allegedly without technical justification, leading to a loss of R$50 million to the public coffers.

The complaints were made by the Department of Agriculture and refer to contracts signed during the João Doria and Rodrigo Garcia administrations (2019-22).

On August 29th, the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), dismissed the number two in Agriculture, Marcos Renato Böttcher, who had been responsible for delivering to the TCE (State Audit Court) a report with alleged irregularities regarding the program. The governor justified that it was a “technical exchange”.

The prosecutor, however, did not see elements of impropriety and highlighted that internal government procedures have not yet been closed.

“For now, there are no sufficient elements in the file to indicate the practice of an act of administrative improbity, and the representation of the Department of Agriculture is indeed premature, as it has not even concluded the administrative procedures to assess the actual occurrence of the reported irregularity with losses to public coffers” , said Castro.

Fernando José da Costa, lawyer for former Secretary of Agriculture Francisco Maturro, who commanded the area during the Garcia administration, praised the MP’s decision.

“We share the understanding of the prosecutor who promoted the shelving of 14 civil investigations, especially because a representation pointing out alleged irregularities within the scope of a government program was shown to be reckless and premature, even before concluding the administrative procedures that assess the occurrence or not of irregularities”, he declared.

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