Bolsonaro’s Political Party Unanimously Expels Federal Deputy Alexandre Frota

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The PSL, President Jair Bolsonaro‘s party, decided on Tuesday, August 13th, by unanimous vote, to expel deputy Alexandre Frota. The decision was taken after a party meeting in Brasília and announced by its president, Luciano Bivar.

The petition for Frota’s expulsion, approved by nine votes, started with deputy Carla Zambelli, who recently declared to the newspaper “O Globo” that the parliamentarian’s position in the party was “unsustainable”.

Frota’s expulsion will not entail the loss of his mandate, as he may remain a member of parliament for another party, or unaffiliated.

In recent days, Frota had publicly criticized the government and the president and even declared that he was disappointed with Bolsonaro and the lack of coordination between the president and legislative deputies.

He had criticized the impending appointment of Eduardo Bolsonaro (PSL-SP), the president’s son, to the Brazilian embassy in the United States on more than one occasion.

One of PSL’s main negotiators in the Chamber of Deputies’ vote on the welfare reform, Alexandre Frota decided to abstain in the second round, contrary to the party’s orientation, after having been removed from the party’s vice-leadership in the Chamber and the command of three municipal directories at President Bolsonaro’s request.

“I believe Bolsonaro asked for this because I said I was disappointed with him, that I didn’t think Eduardo’s appointment as ambassador was the right choice. I was surprised by these changes,” Frota said last Wednesday.

“We were aware of his statements in relation to the negative facts, which I am not going to repeat here, with respect to the president of the republic, with respect to his fellow parliamentarians, with respect to his assessment of the government. So, we don’t agree with his arguments,” Bivar said.

Another of Frota’s public detractors, senator Major Olímpio (PSL-SP), one of the party’s leading names, said when he left the meeting that he was “pleased with the party” after the decision.