São Paulo state deputy Arthur do Val (União Brasil), known as Mamãe Falei, resigned today (20) from his mandate. The deputy’s decision comes after the Parliamentary Ethics and Decorum Committee of the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo (Alesp) unanimously approved, on the 12th, the report that asked for his impeachment for lack of parliamentary decorum.
Despite the resignation, the process against the deputy will continue in Alesp. If deputies vote against Arthur do Val, he will lose political rights for 8 years.
“[A renúncia] this is to lay bare what is really going on, which is what everyone already knows. this whole process [de cassação] it was not for what was spoken, but for whom it was spoken. Now it’s not about my mandate anymore, but whether or not Arthur can run in the next elections”, said the deputy in a video on his Youtube channel.
The rapporteur of the case at the Ethics Commission, Deputy Delegado Olim (PP), highlighted in his text the breach of decorum by Arthur do Val in sexist audios sent to a virtual group, which later became public.
“The content of the speeches shows exploitation, humiliation and moral violence against Ukrainian women in situations of vulnerability. The represented, in the midst of these audios, made apology for sex tourism”, said the rapporteur.
Deputy Arthur do Val went to the border between Slovakia and Ukraine, a country in a situation of war, to, according to him, help the Ukrainians against Russia. The deputy sent audios to friends, later released by the press, in which he praises the beauty of refugee women and says that they are “easy” because they are poor.
“As soon as this war is over I will come back here. And detail, they look. And they are easy, because they are poor. And here my Instagram letter, full of subscribers, works great. I didn’t catch anyone, we didn’t have time, but I glued it to two groups of mines and it’s unbelievable how easy it is,” he said in an excerpt of the audio sent in a private WhatsApp group.
Upon arrival in Brazil, the deputy gave interviews confirming that he was the author of the audios and withdrew his pre-candidacy for the government of the state of São Paulo. He claimed to have made “a mistake in a moment of excitement”.
