Silvinei Vasques, former general director of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), began, on Monday (6), to carry out his duties as secretary of Economic Development and Innovation in São José, a municipality neighboring Florianópolis, in Santa Catarina.
The appointment was published in the city’s Official Gazette and signed by Mayor Orvino Coelho de Ávila (PSD).
Vasques was in pre-trial detention between August 2023 and August 2024, accused of interfering in the 2022 presidential elections. He is suspected of coordinating blitzes on federal highways, mainly in the Northeast, which would have hampered the movement of voters.
Alexandre de Moraes, minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), .
The former director also faced accusations for asking Jair Bolsonaro (PL) for votes on his social networks, on the eve of the 2022 second round. After the publication, which was later deleted, he was accused of administrative improbity and denied irregularities during his testimony to the CPI of January 8th.
Born in Ivaiporã (PR), Vasques joined the PRF in 1995 and retired in December 2022, receiving a full salary of R$13,000, according to the Transparency Portal. In 2024, he was considered as a candidate for mayor of São José by the PL, but the party chose Adeliana Dal Pont for the dispute.
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Mayor Orvino Ávila, re-elected in 2024, is a close ally of Jair Bolsonaro. On social media, Ávila has already referred to the former president as the “greatest in history” and appeared at events alongside Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), federal deputy. The choice of Vasques for the position reinforces the political alignment between the two.
The Department of Economic Development and Innovation, now under the command of Vasques, focuses on the growth and economic diversification of São José. The department also seeks to encourage public-private partnerships, support local companies and implement policies that combine economic growth with social responsibility and environmental.
