The Senate Education Committee approved this Wednesday (27) an invitation for former minister Abraham Weintraub to clarify statements made by him in March 2020, when he was in charge of the Ministry of Education (MEC), about an alleged government request to “deliver” the National Education Fund (FNDE) to Centrão.
“What we are realizing is that a business counter has been installed within the scope of the MEC. On the one hand, lobbyists work and on the other hand, a continuous process of fraud and bids. Faced with the statement that this has already been claimed long before, I think it is important to listen to Weintraub so that the former minister can confirm what he said publicly or bring new information about the facts that the commission has been following“, justified Senator Randolfe Rodrigues( Network – AP), author of the invitation.
In another application approved today, the commission requests that the Federal Police and the Federal Public Ministry send the Senate information and documents forwarded by Weintraub on the alleged irregularities in the MEC.
The senators also formalized a request for information addressed to the current Minister of Education, Victor Godoy, in which they ask for a list of public works in the portfolio started and not completed in the period from 2006 to the present day.
Also during the meeting, the commission approved an invitation to listen to public servant Vanessa Reis Souza. The senators want her to explain alleged requests made by Pastor Arilton Moura to the MEC and the FNDE.
absences
For this Wednesday, three depositions were scheduled in the collegiate. That of the FNDE consultant Darwin Lima and that of Nely Jardim, appointed as a supposed informal advisor to the pastors, and that of the mayor of Centro Novo (MA), Júnior Garimpeiro, but none of them attended. According to the president of the commission, Marcelo Castro, Darwin did not respond to the invitation and Nely justified the absence by the fact that she was already responding to a lawsuit in court. The mayor even confirmed participation by videoconference, but at the last minute asked to reschedule the statement.
Faced with the absences, Castro said that the collegiate is doing what it can to investigate the scheme of the lobbyist pastors who worked in the ministry, but recalled that it has limited powers. “Unlike a CPI, we can only summon a minister of state. And the invitation, the person can accept and not accept”, said Castro.
“We understand that if the person is not to blame, he is the main stakeholder. If he doesn’t come, the suspicion remains, it’s almost a confession of guilt”, highlighted the senator.
Historic
The Federal Senate Education Commission investigates suspicions of favoring the transfer of funds from the MEC and the FNDE through an alleged parallel cabinet led by evangelical pastors Gilmar Santos and Arilton Moura, during the administration of former Minister of Education Milton Ribeiro.
The complaints resulted on the way out of Ribeiro, who is also a shepherd, of the folder. At the time, in his defense, the former minister stated that he did not commit illegal acts. “I am fully convinced that I have never practiced any management act that was not guided by legality, probity and commitment to the treasury. Suspicions that irregular acts were committed must be investigated in depth”, he highlighted.
