Congresswoman Luiza Maia has her political rights suspended.

The 1st Public Treasury Court of Camaçari suspended the political rights of state deputy Luiza Maia (PT); she is accused of using public money to hire a communications company to "self-promote in 2009," when she was still a city councilor and held the position of president of the city's Municipal Chamber; the deputy states that she does not understand the conviction and promises to appeal; "I don't understand the judge's decision because the process comes from an action by the Public Prosecutor's Office, which gave me a favorable opinion due to lack of evidence. I didn't understand what led him to convict me. But it's a first instance decision and we will appeal. I did not commit any impropriety," assures Luiza.

February 08, 2017, 21:24 PMUpdated May 28, 2019, 09:06 AM

The 1st Public Treasury Court of Camaçari suspended the political rights of state deputy Luiza Maia (PT); she is accused of using public money to hire a communications company to "self-promote in 2009," when she was still a city councilor and held the position of president of the city's Municipal Chamber; the deputy states that she did not understand the conviction and promises to appeal; "I don't understand the judge's decision because the process comes from an action by the Public Prosecutor's Office, which gave me a favorable opinion due to lack of evidence. I didn't understand what led him to convict me. But it's a first instance decision and we will appeal. I did not commit any impropriety," assures Luiza (Photo: Romulo Faro)

Bahia Tribune - The court has suspended the political rights of state representative Luiza Maia (PT). The decision was made by Judge Augusto Borges de Andrade, head of the 1st Public Treasury Court of the city of Camaçari, and published in yesterday's Official Gazette. Luiza Maia is accused of using public funds to hire a communications company for "self-promotion in 2009," when she was still a city councilwoman and president of the city council.

At the time, the agreement signed with the company KatiaFlavia LTDA, with an annual value of around R$ 300, was for the production of two magazines about the municipal legislature. The publications featured the image and biography of all the council members and were interpreted by the judge as self-promotion. In the lawsuit, the Public Prosecutor's Office also highlighted that a year later Luiza ran for the position of deputy and ended up winning.

"The defendant ran in the elections for the state legislature, in which she was elected, to the position of state representative, and it is presumed that she effectively caused damage to public funds, for the purposes of publications of a predominantly personal nature," stated Judge Augusto Borges.

In addition to having her political rights revoked, Luiza Maia was ordered to return approximately R$ 117 to the public coffers of Camaçari. "I further sentence the defendant to pay a fine equal to double the amount of said sentence, referring to the financial benefit illegally paid at her behest, with the necessary adjustments according to law until the effective payment," the magistrate determined.

The legal action against the congresswoman began when the Municipal Accounts Court accepted the complaint against the former city councilwoman. She was initially fined R$ 153, but appealed the decision and was acquitted.

Luiza Maia stated that she did not understand the conviction and promises to appeal.

"I don't understand the judge's decision because the case stems from a lawsuit filed by the Public Prosecutor's Office, which issued a favorable opinion due to lack of evidence. I don't understand what led him to convict me. But it's a first-instance decision, and we will appeal. I didn't commit any impropriety; we didn't have any ghost employees. In my two terms in the City Council, I returned R$ 15 million to the Camaçari city hall. My concern for public money was very great, and I wasn't going to tarnish my image with that; it doesn't make sense," she stated.