'Exonerated' by inquiry, opposition targets minister.
After a Federal Police investigation concluded that the May rumor about the end of the Bolsa Família program was "spontaneous," opposition parliamentarians announced they will file a complaint against the Minister of the Secretariat of Human Rights, Maria do Rosário; at the time of the rumors, when thousands of people sought benefits at Caixa bank branches, the minister attributed the rumors to the "opposition news center"; "She needs to answer for this act," says the leader of the DEM party in the Chamber of Deputies, Ronaldo Caiado (GO).
247 - Opposition parliamentarians announced they will file a complaint against the Minister of the Secretariat of Human Rights, Maria do Rosário, with the government's Public Ethics Commission for blaming opposition members for rumors about the end of the Bolsa Família program in May. This Friday, the commission concluded its investigation into the case, finding that the rumor led thousands of people to Caixa Econômica Federal branches and lottery outlets in 12 states. "It was spontaneous".
At the time of the incident, Maria do Rosário said that the rumors about the end of the program must have originated from the opposition. "Rumors about the end of Bolsa Família must be from the opposition's news center. It reveals the position or desire of those who have never valued politics," the minister wrote on her Twitter account, without giving further explanation.rememberIn response to protests, Maria do Rosário deleted the comment and retracted what she said, but the damage was done.
"A Minister of State cannot behave in this way, engaging in political-electoral action, attempting to shift the blame for the government's disorganization onto the opposition. She needs to be held accountable for this act," criticized Ronaldo Caiado (GO), the leader of the DEM party in the Chamber of Deputies, who will be responsible for the action against Rosário in the commission, this Friday, after the conclusion of the investigation by the Federal Police.
The congressman said that the early election campaign led the Workers' Party member to accuse the DEM and PSDB parties of spreading the rumors, echoing other opposition members. "The Workers' Party members don't hesitate to play to the public's anxiety. They didn't hesitate to create a political spectacle with a lie in a pre-election year," criticized the president of the DEM party, Senator José Agripino Maia (RN).
According to the senator, the government knew from the beginning that technical failures had triggered the rumors. "They attributed to the opposition something they knew was a failure of their own system," he added. Deputy leader of the PSDB, Senator Álvaro Dias (PR), echoed this sentiment: "It wasn't even necessary to tell us it wasn't the opposition because it was clear that it was a mess within the government itself, at Caixa Econômica Federal. We wanted the investigations to reach other levels, but that didn't happen."