PMDB complains about arrests at Ministry of Tourism

The leader of the PMDB in the Senate, Renan Calheiros (AL), put it this way: the party sees the police operation at the Ministry of Tourism as legitimate but, even though it does not have sufficient information, considers the number of people arrested strange. “Although we do not know the extent of the operation, it does look like an exaggeration. They arrested 38 people because of a contract from 2009?” said Calheiros [note: the concern in the PMDB is that the party is going to pay a price for something that happened when the PT was running the ministry. In 2009, the minister of Tourism was Luiz Barreto of the PT who substituted Marta Suplicy – also PT – when she left to run for the Senate].

After news of the arrests became public, members of the PMDB met with the minister of Institutional Relations, Ideli Salvatti, for explanations. Following the meeting, Calheiros reaffirmed that the party continues to support the Dilma Rousseff adminstration and the present minister Pedro Novaes of Tourism (who is from the PMDB). And Salvatti announced that the administration has total confidence in Novaes.

“The minister [Novaes] did not know about this. It happened in 2009 [before he became minister]. The PMDB is deeply concerned with the central question here, which is our support for the government,” declared Calheiros, who went on to say that the PMDB wants to avoid having denouncements of corruption aimed at specific political parties (“partidarização”).

“We have nothing against anyone coming here to the Congress to clarify the facts. The PMDB is united and wants to have all the charges cleared up,” said Calheiros.

With regard to minister Wagner Rossi, at Agriculture, also PMDB, Calheiros said he [Rossi] had the support of the party, calling him one of the best ministers of Agriculture of all times. Calheiros promised that Rossi would be testifying about the charges of corruption at his ministry.