Lower house sets up trio of inquiries

Brazil’s lower house on Wednesday elected the chairpersons for three new parliamentary inquiries: one to investigate the Americanas accounting scandal, another on a football match-fixing scandal, and a third on the left-wing Landless Workers’ Movement (MST).

Far-right Congressman Ricardo Salles, who served as former President Jair Bolsonaro’s environment minister until he became the target of a Federal Police investigation into timber smuggling, was chosen by fellow lawmakers to be the rapporteur of the select committee investigating the MST. In congressional inquiries, the rapporteur is tasked with writing the final report, making it one of the key positions alongside the president — who chairs meetings and has power over the agenda.

Mr. Salles is notorious in Brazil for his remarks at a 2020 cabinet meeting at the presidential palace, during which he suggested to his fellow colleagues that the government should “run the cattle herd” over rules and regulations while the press and general public were focused on the Covid pandemic.

Congressman Lieutenant Colonel Zucco, a staunch opponent of the MST, will serve as committee chair.

The MST is a social movement with strong ties to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party and on which public opinion is deeply polarized. While for many of Lula’s supporters the organization is a champion of social issues, defending land redistribution and sustainable agriculture, the large-scale farming sector largely views MST members as “terrorists” who encourage the invasion of private land.

Congressman Julio Arcoverde will chair the football match-fixing inquiry, and Felipe Carreras will be the rapporteur. Attention to the issue has increased in Brazil recently, after at least nine players from the country’s top football division were suspended for having their names cited in an ongoing state-level investigation. The Justice Ministry last week asked the Federal Police to also set up an inquiry.

Sports betting platforms — which currently operate in a legal gray area in Brazil — have become a huge business, sponsoring most of the teams and airing ads on network TV, including during the World Cup in Qatar. 

Congressman Gustinho Ribeiro will chair the select committee to investigate the Americanas scandal, and Carlos Chiodini will be the rapporteur.

Americanas, a well-known brand in Brazil and once a major company on the stock market, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year after reporting “accounting inconsistencies” of BRL 20 billion (USD 4 billion) and liabilities of BRL 43 billion. As The Brazilian Report showed, the investigation into the matter took on political undertones after the retailer hired lawyer Cristiano Zanin, who worked as Lula’s attorney during the Car Wash investigations and is a heavy favorite to be the president’s first Supreme Court nomination this year.

Congressional inquiries usually last for 120 days, so all three committees are expected to finish their work by late September.

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