“It isn’t Nepotism,” Says Bolsonaro about Plan to Appoint his Son Ambassador to U.S.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro refuted on Friday, July 12th, criticism from the opposition who claimed that the choice of his son Eduardo Bolsonaro, a congressional Deputy from São Paulo, to head the Brazilian embassy in the United States would be nepotism.

According to the president, if there were such a restriction, he would “never” have made the nomination.

“Some say it’s nepotism. This appointment, as decided by the Federal Supreme Court, is not nepotism, I would never do that,” said the president, during a live broadcast on Facebook alongside the Valdemiro Santiago, of the Igreja Mundial de Poder de Deus, and the former missionary Deputy José Olímpio (DEM-SP).

Citing the STF decision, Bolsonaro referred to a 2008 precedent decision by the full Court, declaring that the nomination of a relative, spouse or partner to hold a commission or trust position or a remunerated function in public administration violates the Constitution.

However, the STF’s position was that this restriction does not apply when appointing family members to positions of a political nature.

Bolsonaro reaffirmed that, as far as he is concerned, his son needs only to accept the nomination and for the Senate to approve it.

The day before yesterday, the deputy said that, if appointed, he would “accept the assignment.”

“Who do you want me to send there? Celso Amorim? Aloysio Nunes, who was the driver for (guerrilla Carlos) Marighella? My son is much better than me; he has been to many countries in Europe,” said Bolsonaro.

The Federal Supreme Court has a pending case challenging the appointment of relatives to political office. There is, however, no estimate of when the justices will decide the question; the case rapporteur is Justice Luiz Fux.

A survey shows that Supreme Court justices have already issued at least eight rulings (either individually or collectively) to the effect that the veto does not cover political appointments. None of them, however, has addressed diplomatic representation abroad.

In October 2008 the court confirmed by seven votes to one, the order by Justice Cezar Peluso, who guaranteed the position of Eduardo Requio as Secretary of Transports of Paraná state, governed at the time by his brother, Roberto Requião.

Out of the seven votes in favor of Requião’s brother, three came from justices who are still on the STF today – Ricardo Lewandowski, Cármen Lúcia, and Celso de Mello.

The other four justices who voted in this direction have already retired. The only dissenting vote at the time was that of Justice Marco Aurélio Mello, who is still on the STF.

On Thursday, when analyzing the case involving Eduardo Bolsonaro, he told Estado newspaper that the nomination for the embassy in the US would be nepotism and “a shot in the foot.”

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