Interlocutors at Palácio do Planalto say that the maintenance of Pedro Guimarães at the head of Caixa Econômica Federal has become unsustainable amid allegations of sexual harassment involving the executive.
As he is on the board of the financial institution, however, his departure would have to be via the Caixa collegiate or by resignation.
This Thursday (28), given the repercussion of the case, Caixa canceled an event that would take place on the morning of this Wednesday (29) with the presence of Guimarães. The bank had scheduled a statement and a press conference on the 2022/2023 Crop Year.
Members of Bolsonaro’s campaign say that, if the allegations of harassment against the president of Caixa are proven, he should leave the post.
The president’s allies say he must take action himself. Despite this, they minimize the impact that the denunciations have on the reelection project.
The accusation revealed by the Metrópoles portal this Tuesday states that at least five Caixa employees accuse Guimarães of sexual harassment. In one of the reports, one of them says that a person connected to the president of the bank asked what they would do “if the president” wanted to “have sex with you?”.
According to the whistleblower, he was in the pool and “looked like a porpoise showing off”. In addition, employees received calls to go to Guimarães’ room, among other reports.
wanted by Sheet to comment on the allegations, the president of Caixa did not respond. To Metrópoles, the bank reported ignorance about the accusations.
An investigation was opened at the Attorney General’s Office in the Federal District. The case is being processed under secrecy.
The president of Caixa is one of the closest names to President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the government. He is in office by appointment of the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, and has gained the trust of the Chief Executive throughout his term. Guimarães even put himself in the race for the vice seat on Bolsonaro’s ticket, who will run for reelection this year.
In the opinion of interlocutors from the Planalto Palace, despite the proximity to the president, his departure from the government was necessary due to this year’s elections.
The complaints came at a time when Bolsonaro is trying to improve his image with the female audience, a slice of the electorate in which he has one of the worst rates of voter intention.
Guimarães was even considered as Guedes’s replacement in moments of crisis in his godfather’s portfolio in the government. He approached the president and his family for having a worldview similar to that of the Bolsonaro family.
This became clear, for example, when the STF (Federal Supreme Court) ordered the government to release the video of the ministerial meeting in which former minister Sergio Moro claimed that Bolsonaro’s interference in the Federal Police would be proven.
At the meeting, which took place at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Guimarães criticized social isolation, which was recommended by the consensus of the Brazilian and world scientific unit.
He criticized the fact that, at the time, employees were working from home. “Everyone is at home office. What the hell is this?”, he said. He also called the pandemic “mass hysteria”.
The proximity was made explicit in several public events and in the president’s weekly lives – he was one of the most frequent participants in Bolsonaro’s live broadcasts on social media.
In another episode, Guimarães acted directly to prevent Fiesp from publishing a manifesto in which he would show concern about the escalation of the crisis between the Powers amid Bolsonaro’s coup threats on the eve of September 7 last year.
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