André Kosters / Lusa
The former leader of the Liberal Initiative (IL), and candidate for President of the Republic, João Cotrim de Figueiredo
The complaints that were now publicly known by former advisor Inês Bichão against João Cotrim de Figueiredo had already been circulating in IL for two years.
According to , the allegations of sexual harassment made by Inês Bichão against João Cotrim de Figueiredo were already known within the Liberal Initiative two years ago — although Cotrim said he only found out about the complaint on Sunday.
The accusation was disclosed in an Instagram story by the former parliamentary advisor, who worked at the party between April 2022 and October 2023. Despite being restricted to being seen only by “Close Friends”, the message started circulating on Sunday and ended up spreading quickly and reaching journalists.
In a screenshot, Inês Bichão can be seen quoting sexual phrases that Cotrim said to her: “I will never forget the several times I blocked him when he said to me ‘Excellent work, all you need to do is open your legs with me‘, ‘What kind of men do you like?’, ‘Thicker or longer?’”
“I won’t forget what happens to people who don’t do what he wants or who think differently than he does. And the phone calls he makes right after to undermine job proposals“, said Inês Bichão, who now works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Confronted by the knowledge of the allegations against Cotrim, the party claims it does not want to “fuel a dirty campaign which is currently taking place through elections”.
The presidential candidate also tells the same newspaper that the complaint is a “political maneuver”. “They want to shoot us down”, said Cotrim, who says it is “relevant” to know if “in a sovereign body of the Nation there is someone who publishes lies”, referring to Bichão’s position in the Government.
Cotrim has also made it known that he will take legal action against his former advisor. “It is of a serious nature that cannot be allowed to pass without a reaction and, for this reason, in addition to this clarification, I will sue for defamation the person in question”, he revealed.
