A senator from the Amazonian state of Roraima has recently come under fire for defending wildcat miners in indigenous lands — even while working as the head of a select panel set up to investigate the situation of the indigenous Yanomami people.
Senator Chico Rodrigues is a typical political chameleon from the so-called “Big Center,” a group of rent-seeking politicians open to supporting whoever is in power in exchange for political appointments and other favors.
Elected in 2018 for an eight-year term, Mr. Rodrigues became famous nationwide in late 2020, when Federal Police agents caught him stashing cash “between his buttocks,” which earned him the moniker “Senator Underpants.” At the time, he was one of the Jair Bolsonaro administration’s deputy whips. The police later indicted him for embezzling money originally destined for Covid tests, but he has not been charged so far.
In another connection to the Bolsonaro administration, Mr. Rodrigues used to employ Leonardo de Jesus, a cousin of Mr. Bolsonaro’s eldest sons, as an aide in his Senate office. Léo Índio, as he is more commonly known, was photographed inside the Congress building during the January 8 riots.
The alliance between Senator Rodrigues and former President Bolsonaro came naturally as both men are supporters of wildcat mining in the Amazon and in indigenous lands — despite the latter being constitutionally banned in Brazil.
Last year, the Bolsonaro government attempted to fast-track a bill to allow mining on indigenous lands, but it stalled after large protests in...
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