President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Friday (6) that the Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Silvio Almeida, has the right to defend himself against accusations of sexual harassment allegedly committed by him. Lula will speak with Almeida this afternoon and stated that “someone who practices harassment will not remain in government”.
“I am in a fierce fight against violence against women. My government has a priority to make women a permanent part of national politics. I cannot allow harassment. So here’s the thing, we will have to investigate properly. But I don’t think it is possible for the government to continue, because the government will not live up to its discourse, the defense of women, even the defense of human rights, with someone who is being accused of harassment,” said Lula.
“I just have to have common sense, we need to allow the right to defense, the presumption of innocence, he has the right to defend himself. We will put the Federal Police, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ethics Committee of the Presidency of the Republic to investigate,” added the president in an interview with Rádio Difusora, in Goiânia.
The Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, was reportedly among the victims of the Minister of Human Rights. Upon learning of the allegations, Lula ordered Silvio Almeida also provide clarifications to the ministers of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), Attorney General of the Union (AGU) and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP).
“First, I will talk to my three ministers (CGU, AGU and MJSP), I will talk to two more women who are in the government, who are ministers, and then I will talk to both Silvio and Anielle and I will make the decision [sobre a permanência de Silvio Almeida no governo]”, he said.
Lula is fulfilling his agenda in Goiânia and is expected to arrive in Brasília at 2:20 pm for meetings with ministers.
“The government needs peace of mind, the country is doing well, things are working well, the economy is growing […]. I will not allow someone’s personal error or mistake to harm the government. We want peace and tranquility and harassment cannot coexist with democracy, with respect for human rights and above all with respect for subordinates,” the president reaffirmed.
Late this morning, the Public Ethics Commission (CEP) released notice stating that, in an extraordinary meeting, it was unanimously decided to open preliminary proceedings to request clarification from the minister.
The Federal Police also confirmed that it will investigate the allegations of alleged sexual harassment.
Understand
A report on the Metrópoles website, published on Thursday afternoon (5), states that Silvio Almeida was reported to the Me Too Brasil organization for alleged episodes of sexual harassment against women. In a statement, Me Too Brasil confirmed the information.
“The organization defending women victims of sexual violence, Me Too Brasil, confirms, with the consent of the victims, that it received complaints of sexual harassment against Minister Silvio Almeida, of Human Rights. They were assisted through the organization’s service channels and received psychological and legal support,” the statement said.
“As is often the case in cases of sexual violence involving perpetrators in positions of power, these victims faced difficulties in obtaining institutional support to validate their complaints. In light of this, they authorized confirmation of the case to the press.”
Minister Anielle Franco has not yet commented on the case. On her profile on Bluesky (a platform similar to X, formerly Twitter) and on the social network Instagram, First Lady Janja Lula da Silva posted a photo in which she appears kissing Anielle on the forehead. The image, however, does not have any type of caption.
Lula commented on the First Lady’s post. “The reason for a photo of Janja with Anielle is to clearly demonstrate that women are with women. And that’s normal. There is no woman who would support someone who is accused of harassment,” he said during the interview.
In a statement released to the press also on Thursday night, Silvio Almeida said he repudiated “with absolute vehemence” the accusations, which he referred to as “lies” and “absurd inferences” intended to harm him. He confirmed that he had sent official letters to the CGU, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the PGR “so that they may conduct a careful investigation of the case.”
