Public Ministry of Labor accuses Gustavo Gayer of promoting irregular electoral propaganda
The Labor Court in Goiás sentenced the federal deputy Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO) to pay R$80,000 for moral damages. The congressman was accused by the MPT (Public Ministry of Labor) of electoral harassment in a labor context during the 2nd round of the 2022 elections.
According to the MPT, Gayer held meetings with employees from several companies to promote “irregular electoral propaganda” for the then candidate for re-election Jair Bolsonaro (PL). In one of the cases, Gayer went to a bakery, at the owner's request, and held a meeting with employees to talk about “the proposals of the candidates for the Presidency of the Republic”.
Last year, after receiving an anonymous complaint, prosecutors filed an injunction with the Labor Court to prevent new meetings from being held during the election period, and the suspension request was accepted.
Last Sunday (Dec 24), judge Celismar Coelho de Figueiredo, from the 7th Labor Court of Goiânia, handed down a sentence to sentence the deputy to pay compensation of R$80,000.
“The documentary evidence, presented by the MPT, makes clear the practice of electoral moral harassment in the workplace, perpetrated by the defendant against workers from several business companies based in this capital, morally coercing them to vote for a specific candidate as a means of maintaining and creation of jobs, if said candidate were re-elected”the judge wrote.
Defense
In a video posted on social media, Gayer considered the conviction “odd” and confirmed that he will appeal. The deputy said he was invited by businesspeople to explain the “candidates’ government plan” and did not ask for votes for Bolsonaro.
“I took [ao processo] several witnesses, employees and former employees of the companies. All saying that I didn’t coerce, that I didn’t ask for a vote and that none of them were forced to be there.”he concluded.
With information from Brazil Agency.
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