Dummy candidate scandal could lead to cabinet firings

A new wave of scandal has arrived at the doorstep of the Jair Bolsonaro government, potentially resulting in the first firing (or firings) of the fledgling cabinet.

On February 4, newspaper Folha de S. Paulo uncovered a scheme of dummy candidates implemented by Jair Bolsonaro’s Social Liberal Party (PSL) in the state of Minas Gerais, reportedly sponsored by Minister of Tourism Marcelo Álvaro Antônio. The following week, the same paper published further allegations of corruption in the party, once again concerning phony candidates, this time in the state of Pernambuco, and involving cabinet minister Gustavo Bebianno.

The scheme in question involved the registration of a number of dummy candidates on behalf of the PSL, each receiving large sums of public campaign funding, paying considerable amounts to companies connected to advisors of cabinet ministers.

The first case involves Marcelo Álvaro Antônio, current Minister of Tourism and head of the PSL in Minas Gerais. In the 2018 election campaign, the party transferred BRL 279,000 to four women running for state representative, a total corresponding to exactly the minimum amount of funding required for female candidates. At least BRL 85,000 of these funds were paid to companies linked to Mr. Álvaro Antônio’s advisors, among them printing shops and communications firms. The four candidates were among the top 20 funded PSL candidates in the whole of Brazil.

The problem? The four candidates received little more than 2,000 votes between them, suggesting they were never genuine candidates in the first place.