Carnival in Brazil looked extra orange this year as people protested ‘Bolsogate’ scandal · Global Voices
Carnaval fan <PERSON> shows her orange costume at this year's festivities. Photo: @tassianypereira/Instagram, used with permission.
It has nothing to do with fashion trends or a Carmen-Miranda-like pride: Brazilians who paraded on the streets of several major cities this Carnaval season wore orange costumes to send a message to President <PERSON>.
In Brazil, the Portuguese word for orange, “laranja,” is also slang for intermediaries of fraudulent financial schemes.
Two schemes involving Brazil's president or his family — the kind of old, corrupt plot he promised to fight if elected — allegedly made use of “laranjas.”
In December 2018, Rio de Janeiro state prosecutors opened a probe against <PERSON>, a retired police officer and longtime friend of the <PERSON> family who received suspicious cash payments in 2016 and 2017 while he worked as an aide to the president's son <PERSON>, at that time State Deputy for Rio de Janeiro (now senator for the same state). The Brazilian internet later dubbed this the ‘<PERSON>’ scandal.
And in February, newspaper Folha de S. Paulo revealed that the president's party allegedly diverted public campaign funds to candidates that never ran for office during the 2018 elections. Amid the scandal, President <PERSON> fired one of his key allies, former Secretary General of the President's Office <PERSON>.
View this post on Instagram
Laranjou todinha #PSL ???? #laranjaldojair #laranjaldopsl #psl #candidatalaranja #<PERSON> #<PERSON> #énóisqueiroz #carnavalrj #carnaval2019
A post shared by <PERSON> (@tataviolante) on Mar 2, 2019 at 3:37pm PST
I'm all orange #PSL
???? #jairsorangeorchard #pslorangeorchard #orangecandidate #<PERSON> #<PERSON> #thisisusqueiroz #carnavalrj #carnaval2019
The <PERSON> case
In December 2018, the Council for Financial Activities Control (COAF), a federal regulatory agency, disclosed that 1,2 million Brazilian reais — over 300,000 US dollars — had flowed through <PERSON>’s bank account while he worked as a driver and aide to State Deputy <PERSON>. Eight employees of <PERSON>'s cabinet made payments to bank accounts belonging to <PERSON>, who withdrew part of the money himself and made one payment — of around 6,700 US dollars — to the now first lady <PERSON> personal account.
The destination of most of the money is still unclear. 1017
Living in a simple house in the suburbs of Rio, <PERSON> doesn’t seem to have benefited from the sum, therefore the “orange” suggestion.
Meanwhile, 48 cash deposits of 2,000 reais (around 500 US dollars) were made anonymously to <PERSON> bank account in 2017, all from an ATM located inside Rio de Janeiro State Legislative Assembly. Financial institutions are less likely to flag smaller amounts, but the series of deposits, made within a few minutes of one another, led investigators to suspect fraud. <PERSON> claimed the payment referred to the sale of an apartment to a friend.
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Carnavalesca #dia2 #B17 #laranja #queiroz #motorista #17 #deusacimadetodos #psl #carnaval #carnaval2019
A post shared by <PERSON> (@vdevalesca) on Mar 3, 2019 at 8:20am PST
On her hat, the phrase: Our flag will never be orange. “Our flag will never be red” is a common motto by right-wing conservatives in Brazil.
Orange father, ghost daughter
<PERSON>’s daughter <PERSON>, one of his four relatives employed by <PERSON> himself when he was still a congressman, is also under investigation. According to The Intercept Brasil, she never set foot in <PERSON>’s office in the 22 months while she was on the cabinet's payroll (between 2016 and 2018). Not even as a visitor.
She is suspected of having been a “ghost employee,” someone who is on the payroll but doesn’t actually do the work for which they were hired. If confirmed, <PERSON> wouldn’t be the first “ghost employee” linked to <PERSON>. 1017