Numbers of the week: Oct. 5, 2019

This is Brazil by the Numbers, a weekly digest of the most interesting figures tucked inside the latest news about Brazil. Random numbers that help explain what is going on in Brazil. Send any suggestions to contribute@brazilian.report

2,074 votes

The Federal Police brought criminal charges against Jair Bolsonaro’s Tourism Minister Marcelo Álvaro Antônio, suspected of being involved in a dummy candidate scheme within the president’s Social Liberal Party (PSL). In the 2018 election campaign, the Minas Gerais chapter of the PSL (of which Mr. Álvaro Antônio was the head) transferred BRL 279,000 to four women running for state representative. At least BRL 85,000 of these funds were paid to companies linked to Mr. Álvaro Antônio, among them printers and PR firms. These four candidates ended up with a combined total of 2,074 votes, suggesting they were never genuine candidates in the first place. Spokespeople for President Jair Bolsonaro say Mr. Álvaro Antônio will not be relieved of his cabinet seat.

USD 1.3 billion

That’s the amount that Operation Car Wash investigators say was laundered through accounts at Brazil’s five biggest banks: Itaú, Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, Caixa and Santander. Prosecutors are now attempting to determine whether failures in these banks’ control systems could lead to major financial institutions being held criminally liable for money...