A construction company linked to businessman Renato Araújo, pre-candidate for federal deputy for the no. , signed at least R$16 million in contracts for the renovation of public schools under management (PL).
The works at the teaching units are the subject of an investigation by the former deputy (), former president of the . The investigation led to (Avante).
Irregularities in the contracting of school renovations also led the TCE (State Audit Court) to order, in April, the suspension of payments to the companies involved, including Bravo Construções, owned by Araújo’s wife.
In a statement, Bravo Construções stated that it “presented price proposals carefully and in strict accordance with the technical elements provided by the contracting entities”. The company also said that the hirings were a “natural development of a solid trajectory that preceded any political ties.”
Bacellar’s defense declared that they were unaware of the issue and said that the former deputy did not commit crimes. The Department of Education said that school maintenance works are undergoing an administrative review to increase transparency and efficiency in the application of public resources.
In the Federal Revenue records, Bravo Construções is only in the name of Tainá Nóbrega de Souza, Araújo’s wife. The businessman, however, was part of the company’s corporate structure at least until 2024, when he ran for mayor of Angra dos Reis (RJ). In the documents delivered to the Department of Education, in 2025, he signs as general director of the construction company.
The businessman remains close to (PL’s) family. He was responsible for supervising the event in Vila Historica de Mambucaba, district of Angra, held in 2023. He was also one of those who asked the minister, of the (Supreme Federal Court), for authorization to.
He also built strong political ties with his family. It was attended by Jair and —now the PL’s pre-candidate for the Presidency— in his and had been nominated by the former president as vice-president on Bacellar’s ticket, pre-candidate for the Guanabara Palace with the support of the clan until he was arrested by the PF, at the end of 2025.
He is currently a pre-candidate for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies for the PL.
Until 2023, Bravo Construções had not signed any contract with the Rio de Janeiro government. That year, the first of Castro’s second term, the company took on two works. The agreements were terminated before their completion.
In 2025, the construction company was chosen to carry out the renovation of 15 school units, at a total cost of R$16.2 million. The form of hiring, however, became the target of the TCE and the Federal Police.
The TCE identified that the Department of Education began to use a method intended for carrying out small repairs for major renovations of its units.
A state law provides for the transfer of resources from the state Treasury to School Support Associations (AAEs) in order to speed up the emergency maintenance of teaching units. These repairs are carried out without bidding, with a simple price quote. The associations sign the agreements, which are not published in the Official Gazette nor appear on the list of suppliers on the Transparency Portal.
In recent years, the secretariat has started to use this procedure to carry out structural reforms in schools, in major interventions. A survey by deputy Flávio Serafini (PSOL), responsible for representation at the TCE, shows that transfers to AAEs went from R$79 million in 2020 to R$630 million in 2024 and R$513 million in 2025.
“Such findings constitute strong evidence of circumvention of the constitutional and legal regime of public tenders, since major and non-urgent works, which go beyond the concept of small repairs or emergency interventions, are being carried out through the decentralization of resources, to the detriment of the adoption of a bidding procedure”, wrote substitute councilor Andrea Siqueira Martins, when ordering the suspension of transfers.
The PF suspects that the hiring by AAEs was a way for Bacellar to have greater control over the companies chosen to carry out these works.
The investigation investigates the possible transfer of values from these firms to the former deputy, who had control over appointments at the Department of Education and distributed them to allies. Thiago Rangel was arrested on suspicion of embezzling resources for works carried out in schools in Norte Fluminense, his electoral base.
The TCE report pointed out that the expansion of the works came from a decision made by the secretariat, and not from demands presented by the school management.
In one of the cases highlighted by auditors, representatives of a school in Nova Iguaçu described “recurrent flooding problems, which would require structural hydraulic intervention”. According to the report, the Department of Education directed “the contracting to replace the school’s roof, at a high cost, estimated at more than R$2 million.”
This was one of the works undertaken by Bravo Construções. The construction company linked to Araújo took on works in cities in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro through AAEs. It is not possible to know how much the company has actually received.
Construction company says it has a solid trajectory that precedes political ties
Bravo Construções stated, in a statement, that the hiring made during the Castro administration was a “natural development of a solid trajectory that preceded any political connection.”
“The company has been operating in the civil construction market for over 15 years, with a CNPJ registered since 2011 and a proven track record of works in several cities and states. Its experience with the public sector dates back to 2015, when it carried out the construction of a Sebrae unit in Angra dos Reis and, in the same year, carried out works for Andrade Gutierrez during the construction of the Angra Nuclear Power Plant”, states the note.
“The contracts signed with the state School Support Associations were obtained through regular bidding procedures, in which Bravo presented price proposals carefully and in strict accordance with the technical elements made available by the contracting entities. The company had no prior knowledge about any other limitations of the tenders, and there is no evidence in the records that suggests otherwise.”
The company also declared that it executed 90% of the 15 contracts and was approved by directors and regional coordinators.
Bravo also said that the Bolsonaro family “never had any type of relationship with the company.”
The Department of Education said that “it has been carrying out an administrative review of the procedures related to maintenance and repair works in units of the state network”. One of the changes, according to the ministry, is to limit purchases from AAEs to a ceiling of R$130,000.
Bacellar’s defense declared that they were unaware of the issue. “But we can guarantee that our client did not commit any illegality”, said lawyers Daniel Bialski, Marcos Crissiuma and Rodrigo Mudrovich, in a statement.
