The acting minister of Education, Victor Godoy Veiga, is due to appear before the Senate Education Committee in the first week of May. The senators of the collegiate will demand from Godoy explanations about accusations of favoring the federal government to the requests that reached the portfolio through the evangelical pastors Gilmar Santos and Arilton Moura.
Initially, the incumbent minister will be called as a guest. If he adopts the same position as former minister Milton Ribeiro, who decided not to appear to explain himself on the matter, he will be automatically summoned and, in this condition, his presence is mandatory.
The commission’s president, Senator Marcelo Castro (MDB-PI), said that the dates of May 3 or 5 are “practically set”, only depending on the agreement of other senators of the collegiate. Godoy was the executive secretary of the MEC during the administration of the then minister Milton Ribeiro, when the allegations came to light in the press.
Second ear mayors by the Education Commission, the pastors charged bribes to intermediate the release of resources from the National Fund for the Development of Education (FNDE) to municipalities. According to the mayors heard by Luís Domingues (MA), Gilberto Braga; from Boa Esperança do Sul (SP), José Manoel de Souza; and Bonfinópolis (GO); Kelton Pinheiro, the religious asked for deposits in the account of a church, in amounts between R$ 15 thousand and 40 thousand, in addition to gold.
Another authority heard by the collegiate was the president of the FNDE, Marcelo Lopes da Fonte. To the senators, he denied having participated in the irregularities and said that “third parties” used his and Ribeiro’s names without authorization.
Other requirements
This Tuesday (12), the Senate Education Committee approved requests for eight other people to be heard on the case. On the list are two directors of the FNDE: Educational Actions, Garigham Amarante Pinto; and the Management, Articulation and Educational Projects, Gabriel Vilar. Amid the accusation of bribery in the actions of the portfolio, the two bought vehicles worth R$ 330 thousand and R$ 250 thousand, respectively. The value of the cars is incompatible with the salaries received by them, of just over R$ 10,000 per month. The depositions must be given on the 26th and 28th of April.
Another application is for Odimar Barreto, pastor and retired major of the Military Police of São Paulo. He is appointed as one of the articulators of meetings between lobbyist pastors and mayors within the MEC. He was appointed special adviser to former minister Milton Ribeiro in August 2020 and exonerated about a month ago, shortly after the allegations were made public.
Another name approved today was Nely Carneiro da Veiga Jardim. Despite not being an employee of the MEC, she was cited by mayors as a possible intermediary. According to the allegations, she would have offered advisory contracts and asked for votes in exchange for federal funds.
Luciano de Freitas, a lawyer considered a trusted man by pastors Gilmar Santos and Arilton Moura, must also give explanations. By indication of the religious, he was appointed within the Executive Secretariat of the MEC, as project manager, in April 2021. Luciano de Freitas’ supposed role would be to expedite the transfers of resources negotiated by the religious, pointed out the president of the commission.
Other invited to testify are Darwin Lima, who appears in records with the former minister, the president of the FNDE and the director Garigham Amarante Pinto; and Crezus Ralph Lavra Santos, who would have participated in the intermediation of resources between the pastors and mayors. The eighth cited in the request is Jorge Guilherme da Silva Souza, appointed as owner of the company JG Consultoria e Assessoria. Mayors revealed that they had hired the company to raise funds for municipalities
information request
During the meeting, government senators tried, without success, to bar the invitation to the eight testimonies. Carlos Viana (PL-MG), Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ) and Esperidião Amin (PP-SC) were against it and tried to convert the interview invitation into a request for information, so that the answers were given in writing.
