This is Brazil by the Numbers, a weekly digest of the most interesting figures tucked inside the latest news about Brazil. A selection of numbers that help explain what is going on in Brazil. This week: a smelly corruption scandal; record unemployment; Brazil’s newest billionaire; a hush-hush military exercise; and Brazilians’ mistrust of the press.
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BRL 15,000 “between the buttocks”
This week, the government’s deputy whip in the Senate Chico Rodrigues was targeted by a Federal Police investigation into the embezzlement of BRL 15 million earmarked for the fight against Covid-19 by members of Congress. Marshals found around BRL 30,000 in cash in the senator’s home, including BRL 18,000 hidden in his underwear and an extra BRL 15,000 soiled by being stashed “between his buttocks,” according to the police report.
Afraid of being tainted (pardon the pun) by the scandal, the government relieved Mr. Rodrigues of his deputy whip duties — and the Supreme Court ordered his suspension from office. But for the senator to be suspended, the ruling must be confirmed by the Senate floor.
14 million unemployed
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