Partner in Juscelino Filho’s sister’s stud farm has a commissioned position in the Senate

The Minister of Communications Juscelino Filho, who has been the target of complaints for allegedly using flights from the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) for personal appointments in the midst of official agendas, would have obtained commission positions in the Senate for his sister’s partner in a stud farm in Maranhão. The information was published this Monday (6) in the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo, and the data confirmed by People’s Gazette.

Gustavo Marques Gaspar is a partner of Luanna Rezende (DEM) at Haras e Parque Luanna, in the city of Vitorino Freire (MA), according to CNPJ data aggregator platforms (see here and here), but also holds the position of Senior Parliamentary Assistant at second secretary of the Senate, with a base salary of R$ 18.2 thousand (see here).

In addition to owning the stud farm, Luanna is the mayor of Vitorino Freire, the city where Juscelino would have sent R$5 million in funds from the rapporteur’s amendments, in 2020, to pave a 19-kilometer-long road that passes through his and family properties.

O Estadão found out, however, that Gaspar is not known to servers of the second secretariat. Two people who work at the entrance said they did not know him, and a third said that the businessman is working there, but without knowing which days and times.

This third server, says the newspaper, would be politically linked to Senator Weverton Rocha (PDT-MA), who heads the secretariat. The parliamentarian would have received Gaspar after Estadão found out that he held another position in the Senate without opening hours: the PDT leadership office.

The position’s registration on the Transparency Portal is no longer available for consultation, but Estadão reproduced Gaspar’s old capacity (see here). The businessman would have held the position until the newspaper’s report personally verified, in contact with servers, that he did not work on site – he was relocated to the second secretary last Thursday (2).

Also according to Estadão, Weverton Rocha is a friend of the minister and would have been one of the supporters of his nomination to the Ministry of Communications alongside colleague Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), the same party as Juscelino.

Rocha said that Gaspar “has worked effectively with me since I was leader of the PDT in the Senate. Like most aides, he transits the Senate, not necessarily staying in the room,” he said. The parliamentarian also downplayed the fact that the employees of the second secretariat did not know the advisor, since they worked in the fourth secretariat before being relocated to this one.

The Estadão report got in touch with Gaspar, the Senate and Juscelino, but they did not respond. In a post on Twitter over the weekend, Juscelino said he is “committed” to clarifying the allegations at the meeting he will have with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) this Monday afternoon (6).

“I am committed to clarifying to President Lula all the unfounded accusations made by the press. I reiterate that there were no irregularities in the aforementioned trips and that everything is properly documented. I also appreciate the opportunity to be heard with impartiality and serenity, ”he said.

The meeting with Lula is scheduled for 4 pm.

The Juscelino case spilled over into Lula’s relationship with União Brasil

The denunciations against Juscelino Filho spilled over into the president’s relationship with União Brasil, which embarked on the governance of the new government. However, the minister came under the crosshairs of PT after the denunciations – Gleisi Hoffmann, national president of the PT, told Metrópoles that the minister should “ask for a leave of absence to explain himself”, which generated a crisis with Lula.

In a note sent to People’s Gazette this Sunday (5), the leaders of União Brasil in the Chamber of Deputies, Elmar Nascimento, and in the Senate, Efraim Filho, repudiated Gleisi’s speech and said that the national president of the party uses “two weights and two measures”.

“When the attitudes of her allies are challenged – and there has been no lack of accusations against PT members in the recent history of the country – the parliamentarian preaches the right of defense. When the tables are turned, she prefers to make prejudgments. Will President Gleisi make the same statement if a member of her party is the target of attacks?