Flávio Bolsonaro's scandals threaten his father's anti-corruption promises

SÃO PAULO – Jair Bolsonaro, the new president of the far right of Brazil, took the international stage during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with the speech that excited the voters of his country: he pledged to eradicate the corruption rooted in his country.

Barely three weeks after the start of his term, Bolsonaro, who came to power in denouncing the elitist privilege, was confronted with a series of dubious episodes, accusing his government of remaining pretty much the same.

Despite the declared zero tolerance policy of Bolsonaro, tMinisters and some middle managers involved in corruption investigations have been integrated into their government. The vice president's son received a promotion and they gave him an increase that tripled his salary in a state-owned bank. Even a fine imposed on Bolsonaro for fishing in protected waters in 2012 was rejected by the authorities.

Bolsonaro and his allies have also ceased to use their legal, although repudiated, political privileges, such as the acceptance of a transfer indemnity granted to lawmakers and federal officials, although they already live in the capital.

However, the biggest challenge for the nascent Bolsonaro government is a case involving his son Flávio, a senator. Last week, at the request of the president's firstborn, a judge of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil has suspended an investigation into hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial transactions led by an badistant Flávio Bolsonaro.

"It's the usual policy, I do not see the difference with other governments," he said. Manoel Galdino, Executive Director of Transparência Brazil, a monitoring agency. "Although Bolsonaro was elected through a platform that had promised to change corrupt practices, it would be surprising if there were major changes."

The case in which you are involved Flávio Bolsonaro It began to grow in December, when federal financial researchers found that in 2017, about 1.2 million reais – about $ 320,000 – had been received and sent from an account owned by the government. one of their badistants. Fabrício Queiroz. At that time, Flávio Bolsonaro was a state legislator from Rio de Janeiro and Queiroz was his driver.

Among the transactions were payments to Michelle Bolsonaro, the president's wife. The president said Queiroz was repaying a loan to his wife.

Investigators have declined to comment on the case, but critics say that transactions, usually made almost at payday, may reflect an illegal but common practice in Brazil: hire "ghost" employees or never show up and pocket a large part of their salary.

As part of the investigation, the authorities also investigated 48 cash deposits made in five days on the same account to the account of Flávio Bolsonaro.

The senator denied any wrongdoing and stated that the transactions were part of the payment of a property that he sold.

Flávio Bolsonaro, elected federal senator in October, first insisted that he was not the subject of an investigation and that he would meet with prosecutors. A few days before his father boarded a plane bound for Davos, he asked the Supreme Court to suspend the investigation under his right to statutory immunity.

The judge agreed, although the transactions took place when Flávio Bolsonaro was still representative of the state. Under Brazilian law, federal legislators and high-level politicians can only be tried by the highest court.

The case, which the Federal Supreme Court will consider at its next meeting in February, has provoked a negative reaction even among the new president's allies.

"Flávio Bolsonaro's request has a very bad smell," Kim Kataguiri, a right-wing congressman, said, calling the use of legislative immunity "suspicious, to say the least".

Time and time again, the current president has criticized immunity as a shield for corrupt politicians. In a video of 2017, which he recorded with Flávio, he stated that it was "garbage". Bolsonaro, a marginal congressional figure for years, rather known for his provocative remarks about women, gays and Afro-Brazilians, convinced voters that they had to ignore their controversial past as he was the only candidate to have the courage to finish. with violence and political corruption overflowing, as well as conduct favorable reforms for trade in order to reverse the country's recession.

That's the message he sent to world political and business leaders in Davos this week.

"We are here to show that Brazil has changed," he told reporters when he arrived. "Brazil is taking steps to get the world to trust us again, so that business flourishes in Brazil and around the world, without ideological tendencies, so that we can be a safe country for investment."

Asked in Davos about the case in which his son is involved, Bolsonaro told Bloomberg: "If he was wrong and that they prove it, I will regret it as a father, but he will have to pay the price of those shares that we can not accept. "

Although since the election victory of Bolsonaro, the Brazilian markets have recovered, the government is trying to attract more foreign investment. The reform of the country's social security program – which includes an increase in the age of retirement – was considered an important aspect of its economic recovery plan.

However, accusations of corruption, albeit minor compared to the multi-billion dollar corruption scandal that shook previous governments, have weakened the government's image as it prepares to promote unpopular Congress, such as the age of retirement.

"If the economic program succeeds, the injuries caused by the problem of corruption would be less relevant"he said Gil Castello Branco, director of Contas Abertas, transparency body on political corruption. "However, Flávio is putting himself in a difficult position, he and the government."

He and other badysts believe that the new government will interfere in the fight against corruption, if only by the appointment of the Minister of Justice Sergio Moro, the judge who led the government. investigation of the bribes that overthrew several influential figures.

"We will see progress in areas such as money laundering, which is linked to organized crime and political corruption," said Galdino of Transparência Brasil. However, the case in which Flávio Bolsonaro is involved threatens to tighten the government, he added.

"Their children do not hold an official position in the government, but they attend cabinet meetings, speak on behalf of the president on social networks and help make political appointments," Galdino said. "If Bolsonaro can not be separated from his children, it will affect the credibility of his anti-corruption agenda."

Flávio Bolsonaro was involved in a new scandal as his father was preparing to return from Davos. The newspapers revealed to the news, confirmed by the state legislature of Rio, that he had employed the mother and wife of a former police officer who is now accused of having directed a paramilitary group. However, he said his badistant, Queiroz, was responsible for making the hiring decisions.

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