Armed with support from the AGU and CGU, Lula arrived in Brasília with his resignation decided

The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) arrived at Planalto this Friday (September 6, 2024), at 4:30 pm, determined to fire Silvio Almeida from the Ministry of Human Rights due to accusations of sexual harassment. The PT member had been worried since the evening of Thursday (September 5), when the case became public. He began to be provided with information in real time by AGU (Attorney General’s Office) and CGU (Office of the Comptroller General of the Union). I wanted to be cautious when judging the issue, but reports from Anielle Franco (Racial Equality) to ministers and other testimonies against Almeida made the situation unsustainable.

According to the Poder360Lula expressed surprise when he was informed of the reports against the then Minister of Human Rights on the evening of Thursday (5.Sep). Ignored the accusations during public participation in the opening of the 27th São Paulo International Book Biennial.

Already aware of the case, the PT member ordered the ministers of the Attorney General’s Office, Jorge Messias, and the Comptroller General’s Office, Vinicius Carvalho, to investigate the matter. Both heard Silvio Almeida at the Planalto hours after the accusations were revealed.

Since then, Lula has been receiving real-time information about developments. According to reports, while he was in São Paulo and later in Goiânia (GO), the president became concerned about the issue. He did not want to be unfair or hasty with Almeida.

As the day went on, the scenario began to change. Before arriving at the Planalto Palace in Brasília, Lula had already been informed that Anielle Franco had confirmed the accusations against ministers Messias and Carvalho.

First Lady Janja Lula da Silva also made no secret of her position. She accompanied Lula to São Paulo, but did not travel to Goiás. On Thursday night (September 5), the sociologist published a photo of herself kissing Anielle on the forehead without any caption. The gesture also influenced the president’s decision.

While he was still in Goiânia, the candidate for councilor of the city of Santo André, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Isabel Rodrigues (PSB), stated having been the victim of sexual harassment by the now former Minister of Human Rights in a report published on social media. The president was informed of this video.

According to the Poder360 found out, there is a perception in the government that more accusations like this could start to appear and complicate Almeida’s situation and harm Lula. The idea is that the movement tends to worsen with the bellicose behavior that Almeida has demonstrated in trying to prove his innocence. In a note, he said that he asked the president to be fired.

The former minister also said that the Me Too organization, which confirmed the accusations against him, was involved in illegal attempts to interfere in a bidding process by the Ministry of Human Rights.

Upon arriving in Brasília, Lula went straight to meet with ministers Messias, Carvalho, Ricardo Lewandowski (Justice), Esther Dweck (Management) and Cida Gonçalves (Women). The decision, however, had already been made. He then met with Silvio Almeida, when he announced his resignation.

Before leaving the Palace, the Chief Executive received Minister Anielle Franco in his office. After that, she published a note on her social media in which she asked for her privacy to be respected. She stated that any attempt to downplay any case of violence is unacceptable.