LITTLE WORK, LOTS OF CORRUPTION – BOLSONARO MADE THE CENTRÃO, THE MILITARY, HIS OWN FAMILY, AND HIS FRIENDS RICH AT THE EXPENSE OF BRAZIL

Bolsonaro is having a blast with his corporate cards while the population is starving. He has already spent more public money on them than the preceding administrations, and, claiming security concerns, he ordered 100-year secrecy on his expenditures, claiming security concerns. In practice, although he claims - without evidence - that his million reais expenses are to maintain his staff and personal security, no one has access to that data.

1. Under Bolsonaro, Presidency increases corporate card spending by 16% (Estadão, March 2019)
2. Spending on the Presidency's corporate card is the highest in the last eight years (Jornal Nacional, May 2020)
3. Bolsonaro has already spent more on his corporate card than the previous administration (O Globo, January 2022)
4. In 3 years, Bolsonaro spent 20% more on his corporate cards than the Dilma-Temer government (Carta Capital, January 2022)
5. Bolsonaro spends BRL 4.2 million on the corporate card in 35 days (Uol Notícias, May 2022)
6. TCU audit points out that Bolsonaro spent BRL 21 million on the Presidency's corporate card (O Antagonista, June 2022)

7. The Representative points out duplicate expenses in Bolsonaro's corporate card and decides to file a complaint before the TCU (Carta Capital, June 2022)

The president's schedule shows that he works, on average, less than 5 hours a day. That's when he's not taking several vacations a year or missing work on weekdays. Of course, such conduct would already be reprehensible in any government. Still, it becomes even more reproachable when we remember that he was "taking vacations and not showing up on workdays" while a pandemic ravaged the country.

1. Bolsonaro's vacations cost BRL 2.4 million to public coffers, says the government (Congresso em Foco, April 2021)
2. Bolsonaro travels to Santa Catarina to spend New Year's Eve on the beach (Folha de S. Paulo, December 2021)
3. I hope not to return sooner, says Bolsonaro about his vacations (Poder 360, December 2021)
4. Bolsonaro: "If you think I shouldn't go on vacation, don't vote for me" (O Antagonista, February 2022)
5. Bolsonaro's year-end vacation has cost BRL 900,000 (O Antagonista, February 2022)
6. Bolsonaro's vacations on the coast of SP have cost BRL 130,000 a day to the public coffers; the total reached BRL 915 thousand (G1, March 2022)
7. The motorcycles parade with Bolsonaro this Friday shall cost at least BRL 1 million to the public coffers (CNN Brasil, April 2022)
8. Bolsonaro's Carnival on the coast of São Paulo cost BRL 783,000 (O Antagonista, May 2022)
9. Bolsonaro skips weekdays and makes leisure a routine in a poorly evaluated government (Folha de S. Paulo, May 2022)

10. Bolsonaro works 20% less than an intern, according to a study (IG Último Segundo, July 2022)

In his government, Bolsonaro created the biggest vote-buying scheme in history – and made himself and the country his hostages. He bought representatives and senators with the secret budget (also known as Bolsolão). He used taxpayers' money to stay in power while running the worst government in the country's recent history. The secret budget filled the pockets of congress members from the centrão. It consumed BRL 16 billion of public money in 2021 alone. This money fueled corruption scandals that involved the Ministry of Education, the purchase of overpriced tractors and garbage trucks, and even funds from our national health system, SUS (during the pandemic).

1. Bolsonaro's billionaire secret budget pays for overpriced tractors in exchange for congressional support  (Estadão, May 2021)
2. Pro-Bolsonaro representative tells what's the price of Lira's election: BRL 10 million per representative (The Intercept, November 2021)
3. Federal Police want to investigate embezzlement in the secret budget  (IG Economia, November 2021)
4. How the rapporteur's amendments emerged and became a "bargaining chip" between the government and Congress (Gazeta do Povo, November 2021)
5. "Secret Budget": commission approves a ceiling of BRL 16.2 billion for 2022 (Exame, December 2021)
6. The government distributes BRL 2 billion in 4 days after STF authorized the secret budget (Metrópoles, December 2021)
7. The secret budget was BRL 16 billion in 2021. In the last week of the year alone, the rapporteur's amendment reached BRL 3.7 billion (Metrópoles, January 2022)
8. Braga Netto defends transfers from the Ministry of Defense to a soccer field and a chapel. (O Globo, April 2022)
9. Government abandons stalled works and sets up a "fake schools" scheme. The secret budget boosted the scheme  (Estadão, April 2022)
10. Documents show that 70% of the secret budget remains secret (O Globo, May 2022)
11. The VIPs of the secret budget: discover the profile of the members of Congress with more nomination power. (Congresso em Foco, May 2022)
12. The government leader in Congress and Ciro Nogueira's mother lead "secret budget" nominations (Congresso em Foco, May 2022)
13. The government authorized the use of BRL 3.3 billion from the secret budget after Milton Ribeiro's arrest (Exame, June 2022)
14. "Secret Budget" pays for fraud in the SUS health system: there are numerous embezzlements that make it clear that it is widespread corruption (PIAUÍ, July 2022)
15. Opposition goes to the STF against impositional rapporteur amendments: The impositional nature can double the Legislative's control over the budget (Congresso em Foco, July 2022)
16. Rapporteur amendments nominations reach BRL 12.3 billion; see where the money goes (Agência Câmara, July 2022)
17. Rapporteur amendments amount for Codevasf doubles after a request from party leaders (G1, July 2022)
18. Alleged garbage trucks: What is the 'secret budget,' funds used in alleged corruption schemes (UOL, August 2022)
19. Codevasf continues without control under Bolsonaro and profits from the fee for amendments (Folha de São Paulo, August 2022)

20. The government earmarked 90% of the secret budget days before the election deadline (UOL, August 2022)

If one group can't complain about the Bolsonaro administration, it's the military – but only the high-ranking ones. While the covid-19 pandemic devastated the country and Health and Education suffered significant budget cuts, Bolsonaro increased the salary of the military who supported him. He also authorized millions of reais for purchasing non-essential items, such as overpriced Viagra, penile prostheses, steak, salmon, and even botox. So it is not surprising that these same military are supporting the attempted coup against the elections that Bolsonaro is trying to achieve.

1. Military career restructuring benefits higher ranks (Folha, March 2019)
2. Bolsonaro signs Military Pension with no minimum age and more benefits (Uol, December 2019)
3. Bolsonaro approves military pension reform project (Folha, December 2019)
4. Bolsonaro keeps favoring the military by preserving funds and getting the Defense school project out of the paper (Folha, January 2021)
5. TCU points out a high risk in purchases by the Armed Forces from military companies (Folha de S. Paulo, December 2021)
6. A decree by Bolsonaro and Braga Netto restructures compensation and extends benefits to military personnel (Uol, March 2022)
7. Defense approves purchases of BRL 56 million for steak and salmon in the Armed Forces menu (O Globo, April 2022)
8. Military saves BRL 546 thousand for botox; Army denies aesthetic use (Metrópoles, April 2022)
9. The military spree: whiskey, steak, cod, Viagra. And we pay for everything (Forum, April 2022)
10. The Armed Forces spent BRL 33.5 million on another purchase of 11.2 million viagras (Isto É, April 2022)
11. The Armed Forces have the highest salary gain among federal servants in the last ten years (Estadão, May 2022)
12. The Government generals earn up to BRL 350,000 more per year after Bolsonaro’s measure (Folha, May 2022)
13. Untouchable retirement, salary raise, jets: Bolsonaro favors the military (Gazeta do Povo, May 2022)
14. Military members escape public servants’ salary squeeze under Bolsonaro (Folha, May 2022)
15. The Armed Forces bought overpriced Viagra by up to 550% (O Antagonista, May 2022)
16. The government used leftovers from Bolsa Família to pay for military expenses. BRL 375 million served to pay for housing assistance and missile launchers (Folha, June 2022)
17. The Compensation of inactive military personnel distances itself from INSS pensions (Folha, July 2022)
18. TCU identifies the overpriced purchase of Viagra by the military and asks for money back (Veja, July de 2022)
19. 1,600 military personnel received over BRL 100,000 per month in 2022  (Uol, August 2022)

20. The list of Military Super Salaries (Congresso em Foco, August 2022)

Bolsonaro promised he would end the corruption gravy train. Still, as soon as he became president, he turned the federal government into a job rack for political allies. While dismissing and firing serious career civil servants, such as Bruno Pereira, he employed and promoted the unqualified friends of his sons and representatives in strategic government positions.
 

A typical example is the case of José Vicente Santini, a friend of the Family who was seen using a FAB jet to go to India in January 2020. The case was all over the media, and Santini was dismissed – but re-hired the next day. That looked bad, so he was dismissed again. However – to no one’s surprise – he was re-hired seven months later by the Ministry of the Environment. In February 2021, Santini took a position at Palácio do Planalto and was later promoted to the national secretary of justice. He was the one who acted in defense of Allan dos Santos, whose imprisonment was ordered at the request of the Federal Police. In August 2022, he went back to working at Palácio do Planalto.
 

Like Santini, dozens of other associates without technical qualifications are paid with taxpayers' money. They occupy key positions, often getting in the way of essential processes out of sheer incompetence or simply acting in bad faith.

1. Planalto's advisor travels in a FAB jet on an exclusive flight to India and is dismissed by Bolsonaro (Folha, January 2020)
2. He was fired for using a FAB jet to go to India and now has a new position (Metrópoles, January 2020)
3. Fired again: Bolsonaro cancels Santini's readmission (Agência Brasil, January 2020)
4. The appointment of the new president of IPHAN generates controversy and criticism. Larissa Rodrigues Peixoto is not from the ​​cultural heritage field, but tourism and hospitality (Estado de Minas, May 2020)
5. The lawyer who defended militia members at the Ministry of Health gets a position, but nobody talks about it (Jornal de Brasília, May 2020)
6. Former advisor to Carlos Bolsonaro is appointed as president of Funarte (Isto É, July 2020)
7. Pazuello appoints an acquaintance with no experience to head a department in Pernambuco state (Poder360, July 2020)
8. Santini gains position in the Environment after dismissal for using a FAB plane (Estado de Minas, September 2020)
9. The friend of Bolsonaro's sons who traveled in a FAB plane gets a government position. Vicente Santini was dismissed in January 2020 and later, in September, became an advisor to the Ministry of the Environment. Now, he has returned to work at Palácio do Planalto (Estado de Minas, February 2021)
10. Over 20 military personnel, 'Captain Chloroquine,' and an Olavista doctor occupy strategic positions in the Ministry of Health (BBC, February 2021)
11. Psychology entities question the appointment of a general as the new coordinator for Mental Health at the Ministry of Health (Conselho federal de Psicologia, March 2021)
12. Santini (yes, the one on the FAB jet) is appointed National Secretary of Justice (G1, August 2021)
13. Mário Frias gave his brother-in-law a position of BRL 18,000 at Embratur (Metrópoles, February 2022)

14. Federal Police's target in the Allan dos Santos case, Santini returns to Planalto (VEJA, July 2022)