In an interview with Jovem Pan last Friday (21), Margareth Menezes stated that he sought guidance from the Ethics Committee on the receipt of funds from Salvador and Fortaleza City Halls for his presentations
The Minister of Culture, he recently found himself at the center of a controversy after performing shows in the Northeast during the . In an interview with Jovem Pan, the minister, who is also a renowned artist, defended herself from accusations of irregularities, stating that all her actions were guided by legality. Menezes received more than R $ 600 thousand from the city halls of Salvador, Bahia, and Fortaleza, in Ceará, for his presentations, which generated an intense ethical debate and culminated in a popular action in the Federal District Federal Court.
Lawyer João Henrique Nascimento de Freitas, who had already issued a decision by 2023 forbidding the minister from receiving public money for shows, questions the legality of payments made to Margarete Menezes. Freitas, former counselor of the Public Ethics Commission of the Presidency of the Republic, filed the popular action, claiming that the situation is a conflict of interest. In her defense, the minister said she consulted the government’s internal instances before accepting the presentations and is not the first minister of culture to be an artist.
Margarete Menezes pointed out that, on all occasions, sought guidance from the Ethics Committee, which did not identify irregularities in her actions. She argued that her performance as an artist is an integral part of her work and that all consultations to the Ethics Committee were properly held. The minister emphasized that the decision to present was made based on internal opinions that guaranteed the legality of their actions, reinforcing their confidence in the fairness of the process.
*With information from Rodrigo Viga
*Report produced with the aid of AI
