The minister of the (Supreme Federal Court) accepted a request from anti-corruption entities and ordered the Federal Police to investigate the case of machines purchased with parliamentary amendments that opened a road in the interior of Acre with illegal deforestation and invasion of indigenous land, as revealed by the Sheet in October.
According to Dino’s decision, the facts reported in the report “constitute evidence of possible crimes”. He ordered the PF to “adopt the appropriate measures within the scope of its competence, promoting the joining of investigations already opened or opening new ones”.
The measure was adopted by the minister this Sunday (23) and also covered other situations of suspected misuse of amendments in other states reported by Uol and the newspaper O Globo.
The determination came in response to the petition signed by the Brazilian section of Transparency International and the organizations Transparência Brasil and Contas Abertas, filed about a month ago in the STF’s main process on parliamentary amendments, which has Dino as rapporteur.
The requests in relation to the environmental case in Acre were based on publications in the series “”, started on October 11th by Sheet with support from the Rainforest Investigations Network (Tropical Forest Investigations Network, in Portuguese), from the Pulitzer Center.
The first report in the series showed that, since 2015, deputies and senators have allocated parliamentary amendments to the states of the Legal Amazon, with a total of resources at least three times greater than those for environmental protection actions in the Amazon forest region.
Inspection agents, authorities, environmentalists and indigenous leaders interviewed by the newspaper associate the abundant distribution of equipment with deforestation and the opening of illegal roads by city halls and other public bodies, combining developmental discourses with violations of the law.
Subsequently, the Sheet brought a specific case of a road between the municipalities of Porto Walter (AC) and Cruzeiro do Sul (AC) with an investigation into the environmental impacts behind the lack of planning and technical criteria in the use of amendments.
This report showed that federal deputy Zezinho Barbary (PP-AC) used his share of funds to regularize the work of a project during the period when he himself was mayor of Porto Walter. The works led to the road passing through his family’s rural property and subsequently invading demarcated indigenous land.
Barbary said in an interview with Sheet who described the requirements of environmental law as “bureaucracy”. He also stated that his conduct sought to respond to the outcry of the local population and bring the city out of isolation. He denies having performed any act for his own benefit.
According to the petition filed by the NGOs with the STF, this reported fact “clearly illustrates how resources arising from parliamentary amendments, distributed to projects and initiatives without any assessment of socio-environmental risks, end up enabling the practice of illicit conduct with serious impacts on the environment and indigenous peoples in the Amazon”.
Two requests made by anti-corruption entities in October have not yet been decided by the minister.
The first was for the STF to call on the Federal Police and environmental agencies so that the authorities “can speak out about the evidence and risks of using machinery acquired with amendment resources to carry out illegal acts of deforestation and environmental degradation”.
Another request from the NGOs still pending is that “the socio-environmental criteria analyzed by government bodies, in the evaluation of amendments for the acquisition of machinery, include a description of their immediate purposes, with the presentation of possible licenses when they include the construction of roads and branches”.
In addition to Porto Walter, on Sunday Dino ordered an investigation into suspicions involving Tartarugalzinho (AP), the electoral base of the president of , (União Brasil-AP). The report highlighted signs of deviations and irregularities in tenders, including the directing of contracts to companies belonging to people politically linked to the mayor.
The minister also ordered an investigation into amendments intended for Arari (MA) by deputy Pedro Lucas Fernandes (União Brasil-MA). According to a newspaper report cited in the decision, R$1.25 million sent to repair local roads ended up being used to pay city hall expenses, including garbage transportation, purchase of medicines and payroll.
In Zabelê (PB), the publication showed that resources sent to build a park were used to cover current expenses, such as paying servers, small services and utility bills. The amendment was authored by former deputy Edna Henrique (Republicanos-PB).
