Five days after being sworn in for his second term, the mayor of São José (SC), Orvino Coelho de Ávila, appointed the former director general of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), Silvinei Vasques, to head the Municipal Secretariat for Economic Development and Innovation.
At the head of the department, Vasques, who has a degree in economics, administration and law, will be responsible for the development and coordination of public policies aimed at boosting the growth and economic diversification of the city of around 270 thousand inhabitants.
Located in the metropolitan region of Florianópolis, São José is the fourth most populous municipality in Santa Catarina. According to the city hall, among the objectives of the secretariat headed by Vasques is the promotion of partnerships with the private sector and support for the development of local companies.
A former federal highway police officer, Vasques commanded the PRF between April 2021 and December 2022, during the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro. He was exonerated from office one month after the Federal Court made him a defendant in an action of improbity in which the MPF accused him of using his position as general director of the corporation to try to favor Bolsonaro in the 2022 presidential elections.
In August last year, the Federal Police (PF) indicted Vasques and the former Minister of Justice and Public Security Anderson Torres, to whom the PRF was subordinate, on suspicion of trying to prevent the movement of voters in the Northeast, during the second round of the 2022 election.
According to the PF, Vasques and Torres gave illegal orders and worked for federal highway police officers to carry out operations, setting up blitz in order to hinder the movement of voters in the Northeast Region, where the then presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was leading the voting intention polls, surpassing Bolsonaro, who was running for re-election.
On the eve of the second round, the then president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), prohibited the PRF from carrying out operations that would disrupt the movement of voters across the country. The determination, however, was not complied with, which led Moraes to order the preventive detention of Torres and Vasques.
The former director of the PRF spent a year in detention, from August 2023 to August 2024. He and the former minister have always denied the improper use of the public machine.
In March 2024, the MPF denounced Vasques and seven other people on suspicion of fraud in tenders and contracts relating to the purchase of 15 armored operational vehicles, popularly known as “caveirões”, for R$13 million. Acquired in 2020, the vehicles were destined for the PRF Superintendency in Rio de Janeiro, then headed by Vasques.
Based on technical reports from the Army and the Federal Audit Court (TCU), the MPF maintained that the armored vehicles delivered to the superintendency were not capable of operating in Rio de Janeiro territory, not being able, for example, to climb slopes. Furthermore, the armoring of the units would not be consistent with the contracted operational safety parameters. The Federal Court in Rio de Janeiro rejected the complaint in June 2024.
City hall
Consulted by Brazil Agencythe city of São José justified the appointment, highlighting that, in addition to his academic training and professional experience, Vasques was born in the city and knows the local demands well.
“With a successful career at the PRF and an extensive CV, he brings together the experience and skills necessary to lead the Secretariat of Economic Development and Innovation. The City of São José believes that Vasques will contribute greatly to the city’s development.”
The secretary did not comment on the complaints he is responding to in court.
