Even after fleeing Brazil to avoid facing legal proceedings, federal representatives Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), Carla Zambelli (PL-SP) and Alexandre Ramajim (PL-RJ) still receive about R$460,000 per month from the public treasury between parliamentary salaries and quotas and civil servant salaries. This amount was collected by GLOBO with total expenses in October, when none of them were in the country. The figures indicate that despite the physical absence of parliamentarians, the chamber has not reduced state costs, and its offices are still operating.
As GLOBO revealed on Thursday, Alexandre Ramajem’s office, on at least three occasions, submitted invoices for supplies during the time Ramajem participated, remotely, in votes in the chamber. Records indicate that expenses made under Ramajim’s name were incurred by a third party, a practice prohibited under the Chamber’s bylaws.
The former director of Brazil’s intelligence agency (Abin) has been sentenced to 16 years and one month in prison in a coup plot trial. However, on the same day that the Minister of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes, announced his vote to convict the parliamentarian, he crossed the border between Brazil and Guyana, and from there, he traveled to Florida, in the United States.
In September, Ramajim spent R$13,000 on parliamentary quotas, and in October, R$20,000. These amounts may continue to increase, as MPs have up to 90 days to submit bills.
The total salary paid by the Chamber to the representative amounted to 46 thousand Brazilian riyals. Furthermore, the monthly salary of Ramagem consultants amounted to R$133,000. Adding these amounts together amounts to R$200,000 per month. The Chamber notes that it was not notified of his departure from the country. Ramajim provided medical certificates from September to December.
Carla Zambelli, who was arrested in Italy and is under extradition, has had her quota reset since May, when she left Brazil. However, his office remained active: in September alone, expenses reached R$103,246.13, an amount equivalent to the wages of civil servants and building maintenance. In October, expenses reached R$130,000 per month. She did not receive a salary during the period, as her bonuses were stopped by the chamber following her placement abroad.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, who moved to the United States after taking a leave of absence from office in March, has also not used the parliamentary quota since March, when he moved to the United States. However, he maintains a strong government that costs R$132,000 per month. There is no record of the salary paid to him since July in the chamber’s bylaws.
The continuity of these costs occurs because the Chamber’s regulations consider that parliamentary activity does not depend exclusively on physical presence in Brasilia.
The Chamber of Deputies can suspend the payment of salaries, as happened with Zambelli and Eduardo Bolsonaro, but the structure of the Cabinet remains active as long as the mandate remains formally in place, which includes advisors, fees and administrative expenses.
For example, the Ramajim office invested, in addition to the amounts spent on refueling cars, R$10,000 in the dissemination of parliamentary activities, such as R$1,000 in paid advertising on social media and another R$9,000 in social media management. The office also pays, for example, for renting furniture such as cabinets and tables.
In general, the Chamber directly reimburses some expenses, such as airline tickets. In other cases, payment is made upon submission of invoices. Fuel use is only compensated when the MP himself uses it.
In the order ordering the preventive detention of former President Jair Bolsonaro, Minister Alexandre de Moraes stated that the escape of the three from the country was one of the reasons that justified the need to keep Bolsonaro in the closed system.
“If the very serious evidence of the possible escape attempt by the accused Jair Messias Bolsonaro mentioned above is not enough, it is important to highlight that the co-accused Alexandre Ramajim Rodríguez and his political ally Carla Zambelli, both convicted by this Supreme Court;
Even from a distance, both Ramajim and Eduardo Bolsonaro wanted to maintain some of their parliamentary activities. In the United States, but without the knowledge of the chamber, the representative participated in the vote.
While his true whereabouts remain unknown, Ramajim has remained in contact with supporters and advisors as if he were in Brasilia, but under medical care.
Last Tuesday, Chamber President Representative Hugo Motta (R-PB) signed a fatwa prohibiting parliamentarians from participating in voting and being outside the national territory, except on an official mission registered by the Chamber.
Prior to this decision, Ramajim voted on several projects that were being processed in the House of Representatives in recent months. According to the chamber’s data, Ramajim participated remotely with 124 votes between September 10 and November 18.
On Thursday, while voting in a joint session of the National Congress, federal representative Eduardo Bolsonaro also registered the votes. After Eduardo’s vote was determined, the President of the Senate, Davi Alcombre (Uniao-AP), announced that his vote would be canceled and the results of the votes would be corrected.
The Colombian referred to the ban approved by the Chamber when making its decision.
– This presidency declares the aforementioned voting minutes invalid and determines the correction of its results – said Al-Colombre.