Goiás adopts a risky strategy to overcome the crisis.

Henrique Morgantini_Goiás247 - By not making any changes to his cabinet, Governor Marconi Perillo (PSDB) is trying to project an image of trust in his advisors, while the accusations and evidence of each of their involvement in the illegal gambling scheme in Goiás only grow stronger each day: the cases of João Furtado (SSP) and Thiago Peixoto (education) are the most serious. There are others.

The tentacles of the organization that long ago surpassed the limits of illegal gambling in Goiás reached the Palácio das Esmeraldas (Governor's Palace). By bringing down the Chief of Staff of Governor Marconi Perillo, Eliane Pinheiro, caught in conversations using a Nextel radio provided by Cachoeira's network, the close relationship between the group led by the racketeer and the top echelons of the Goiás government became evident.

But the indiscriminate and uncontrolled exploitation of gambling, through slot machines, is only one arm of the many that exist within the organization that brought together the former president of the City Council and former state secretary of Labor under Marconi Perillo, Wladmir Garcêz, the director of the company Delta Engenharia, Claudio Abreu, and the businessman Carlos Cachoeira.

In recordings revealed by the press and made by the Federal Police, the group had significant business dealings within the government. This occurred both through Senator Demostenes Torres, who was deeply involved in the multi-million dollar scheme, and independently.

What the recordings reveal is that, in addition to gambling, the group also conducted transactions within the Department of Education, headed by Thiago Peixoto (PSD). One of the records indicates that Peixoto was covertly and illegally providing Chinese school construction models so that Abreu and Cachoeira's group could get ahead in building properties and, at the right time, rent or sell them to the state government. The cost of this disclosure of confidential information is still unknown.

SSP

Despite the millions in contracts Delta held with Agetop, the agency responsible for major state works in Goiás, brokered by Wladmir Garcêz and orchestrated by Cachoeira, and the scandals that are surfacing within the Education sector, the mainstay of the parallel government in Goiás remained gambling, based in an unexpected location: the Public Security Secretariat.

There are countless records made by the Federal Police showing high-ranking officers of the Goiás Military Police asking for "help," "money," or even "a motorcycle" from employees of the organization. In exchange, they promise to provide information, avoid police operations, and coordinate the strategic security of all organized crime exploiting slot machine gambling. To date, involved delegates, commanders of the Military Police, and other police officers involved have been removed from their posts pending investigation. But no political action has been taken by the Government of Goiás.

Risco

Marconi Perillo's strategy, after presenting conflicting answers about his true relationship with Carlos Cachoeira in various media outlets, is very clear. Perillo wants to hold onto his most committed advisors for as long as possible in order to avoid the summary dismissal of each one of them being an acknowledgment that parallel power was effectively installed within his administration.

More than that: the dismissal of Thiago Peixoto, the Secretary of Education mentioned in the wiretaps, and of João Furtado Neto, from the Public Security Secretariat – the latter even more entangled, since he is cited as a partner in some operations – could represent a dilemma for the Governor. If he resigns and denies knowing about these criminal actions, he admits that his government was compromised without his knowledge. An open declaration of incompetence.

On the other hand, if he doesn't purge his advisors, Perillo risks implying that they are all part of Cachoeira's scheme and that he won't be able to get rid of the secretaries who did what they did with the knowledge of the top boss, the governor himself.

These are all hypotheses widely discussed in Goiás political commentary and also by the population, which is growing impatient, as shown by this weekend's demonstration against MARCONI. It's the unfortunate popular saying: if you run, the beast will catch you; if you stay, the beast will eat you. Which, when it comes to criminal connections with the illegal lottery, is one of the strongest ironies seen recently in Goiás politics.