Wife of Rui Costa omits position in the Government of Bahia – 02/24/2023 – Power

The wife of the Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa (PT), omitted from her resume that she has held a position in the Health Department of Bahia for at least nine years, including the eight years in which her husband was governor of Bahia.

Aline Peixoto, who is a nurse and is running for a vacancy as a counselor at the Municipal Court of Auditors, was appointed on May 5, 2014 in office for the post of special advisor to the State Health Secretariat of Bahia.

She remained in office even after Rui Costa took over the government of Bahia in January 2015. In the same period, she became president of Voluntárias Sociais, a non-profit organization traditionally led by the first lady of the state and which works in partnership with the government.

The position in the Department of Health has a salary of R$ 4 thousand, but the bonuses can increase remuneration by up to 125%, reaching a total of R$ 9.1 thousand.

In the resume sent to the Legislative Assembly to register her candidacy for the position of counselor at the Court of Auditors, Aline Peixoto reported that she held a position at the Bahia Health Department between 2012 and 2014 and said that from 2015 she took over the management of Social Volunteers.

Throughout the period of the Rui Costa administration, Aline Peixoto always responded for the Social Volunteers and never said publicly that she held a position as an advisor to the Secretary of Health. She was also never publicly mentioned by the four secretaries of health as an advisor to the folder.

The government of Bahia does not publicly disclose the list of state employees. But Sheet confirmed that Aline Peixoto is on the staff of the state. There are also records of 12 travel allowances received by the then First Lady in the period between 2016 and 2018, all paid by the Health Department, which add up to a total of BRL 8.3 thousand.

Aline Peixoto was appointed for the first time to a position in the government of Bahia in June 2008, when she assumed the position of director of the Regional Hospital of Ipiaú, a city in the south of the state.

He remained in office until September 2012, when he took a position at the State General Hospital in Salvador. She stayed in the role for just under two years, until in May 2014 she became a special advisor to the Secretariat. At the time, Rui Costa was already a pre-candidate for governor of Bahia.

Secretary of Health of Bahia between January 2015 and August 2021, during the Rui Costa administration, physician Fábio Vilas-Boas stated that Aline Peixoto was an advisor to the cabinet, but admits that she did not work at the headquarters of the Health Secretariat.

“She worked on the projects that we did. There are several projects in interface with the Social Volunteers in the health area, such as the health mutirões”, said the former secretary, noting that, like the former first lady, other servants worked outside the headquarters of the secretariat.

The government of Bahia was contacted by the report this Friday (24th), but said it would not comment on the matter. Minister Rui Costa, through his advisory, also said he will not comment. A Sheet was unable to contact Aline Peixoto.

The summary of the Federal Supreme Court that deals with nepotism makes the exception for the appointment of relatives only for positions considered political – in the case of the government, the positions of state secretaries.

Experts heard by Sheethowever, point out that the case does not qualify as nepotism under the legislation in force, since Aline Peixoto was appointed to the position during the Jaques Wagner administration.

The dispute for a vacancy in the Court of Auditors of the Municipalities of Bahia opened a crisis between the main leaders of the PT in Bahia: minister Rui Costa and senator Jaques Wagner, both former governors.

Last week, Jaques Wagner said for the first time publicly, in an interview with the Metro1 portal, that he does not agree with the appointment of the former first lady of Bahia to the position of counselor of the Court of Auditors.

Governor Jerônimo Rodrigues (PT) dodged the controversy: “I, as governor, cannot take sides because this is a vacancy in the Legislative Assembly. [Jaques] Wagner is a senator and is free to take a stand,” said the petista last week.

Minister Rui Costa has acted behind the scenes by nominating his wife for the position, which is for life and has a monthly salary of R$ 41,800. The initiative, however, generated discomfort and embarrassment among allied deputies, as well as criticism from PT voters.

The PT bench is also a focus of resistance, since the initial idea was to appoint a state deputy from the federation that includes PV and PC do B to the position. The maneuver would guarantee a seat in the Assembly for former PT deputy Marcelino Galo, who failed to be re-elected.

Even with the resistance, Aline Peixoto was consecrated as the only candidate of the allied base with the public endorsement of 34 deputies. Also running for office is former state deputy Tom Araújo (União Brasil), who was endorsed by opposition parliamentarians.

The choice of the next counselor for the Municipal Court of Auditors by the Legislative Assembly, which would take place during Carnival week, ended up being postponed and should happen within 10 days. The sabbaths with the candidates will be on the 6th and 7th of March. The polling day has not yet been set.