Maria do Rosário on Bolsonaro: "a criminal who can't even pay his own bills"
The congressman was one of the first victims of Bolsonaro's fascism.
247 - Federal deputy Maria do Rosário (PT-RS) harshly criticized former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) after the revelation that he sold jewelry received on official trips to pay off a R$ 20 compensation imposed by the courts. The statement was given in interview to Sputnik Brazil, which released, last Thursday (20), excerpts from the testimony of former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid. The military officer stated that Bolsonaro ordered the sale of the items to cover the conviction in a lawsuit filed by Rosário.
"When I received this compensation, I donated it to organizations that work with women, because I always considered that the violence wasn't just against me. The moral damage affects all Brazilian women, due to the misogyny that these fascist figures carry into the experience of living in Brazil. However, when he says he needed to commit the theft of jewels that belonged to Brazil, he creates this whole setup around it, as Mauro Cid reports. What [Cid] is showing is that this criminal doesn't even pay his own bills, he doesn't take responsibility for his own actions," Rosário stated.
The court ruling that led to the compensation payment dates back to 2015, when Bolsonaro was held responsible for misogynistic attacks against the congresswoman, including the infamous statement that she "didn't deserve to be raped." Initially, the fine was R$ 10, but the amount doubled due to interest for late payment.
Complaint filed against Bolsonaro for attempted coup d'état.
In the interview, Rosário also commented on the recent indictment by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) against Bolsonaro and 33 other people for the crime of attempted coup d'état. According to the congresswoman, the majority presence of military personnel among those indicted reinforces the need to review the training of the Armed Forces.
"This country needs to ask itself what kind of military personnel we are training to command the Brazilian Armed Forces. It's long overdue. I even have a proposal in the Chamber of Deputies that [stipulates that] military schools should be under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, therefore civilian, leaving the professional training in the military field to the military. But the ideology, the perspective of what is taught in military schools, cannot be contrary to the Constitution in the training of Brazilian officers. This is a structural element of democracy," he argued.
For Rosário, "there is no coup without militarism," pointing out that coup ideology permeated sectors of the Armed Forces during the Bolsonaro government. "At that moment, we had the greatest possible absurdity of a president of the Republic denounced for all forms of crime, all criminal actions, who, between 2021 and 2023, in early 2023, worked in every way, according to the Attorney General's Office, to prevent another person, another candidate, from assuming the Presidency of the Republic [...]. A captain who was expelled from the Army for misconduct, a terrible soldier, a terrible president, commanded generals and officers to attempt a military coup against the Constitution and against Brazil," he criticized.
Decline in President Lula's popularity
The congresswoman was also questioned about recent polls indicating a drop in the popularity of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's (PT) government. Rosário attributed this decline to external factors and disinformation strategies.
"It was a sordid campaign, and there was even a change in the way news is presented online, through algorithms. So we had a construction of the image surrounding the Pix issue [controversy over the Federal Revenue Service's auditing of amounts above R$ 5] that had nothing to do with the truth, but it was being used by various social strata," he explained.
Despite this, Rosario acknowledged that the government needs to act to improve the economic situation, especially with regard to food inflation.
"Brazil opened many markets abroad and didn't have a supply policy. Everything is being resumed with Conab [National Supply Company]. So it's very clear to us that we need to lower food prices in the market for the population. Meat, especially eggs, are items that concern us because of the quality of life that is ensured or taken away from the population. But the outlook in this area is positive, to reverse the problems that exist. Now we are going on a very big offensive," he promised.
