The Public Ministry asked the Regional Electoral Court of Alagoas to revoke the mandate of governor Paulo Dantas and his deputy, Ronaldo Lessa, for the practice of abuse of political and economic power during the 2022 electoral campaign. The governor is accused of distributing baskets basic supplies on the eve of the election, acquired with public money, which, in theory, would have unbalanced the election. In addition to the impeachment, the MPE requests the ineligibility of the governor, who is from the MDB.
The electoral judicial investigation action was filed by the Alagoas Merece Mais Coalition, which had senator Rodrigo Cunha (Podemos) as its candidate. The coalition maintains that Paulo Dantas misused the public machine in Alagoas.
According to the complaint, the Pact Against Hunger program was created at the end of June 2022 to distribute basic food baskets to people in socially vulnerable situations, but the execution took place in the three months before the election. The coalition that denounced the alleged abuse maintains that this action by the Executive would be permitted in a situation of public calamity, state of emergency or through budget execution from the previous year.
The governor and vice-president refuted the accusation, explaining that the Pact Against Hunger would not be a social program, but a commitment established by the State government to face the food emergency in Alagoas, especially after the Covid-19 epidemic. The project was budgeted at 198 million reais.
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The MPE, however, did not accept the defense’s arguments. “Firstly, it appears, by design, that the launch of an assistance program of the magnitude of the Pact Against Hunger in the middle of an election year, without a specific law providing for it or the start of budget execution in the previous year”, says the action.
For prosecutors, the governor benefited electorally from the program. “It appears that, in his capacity as State Governor, he proved himself to be effectively responsible and direct beneficiary of the illicit conduct.” Also according to the MP, the conduct of the governor and vice president “presented a maximum level of harm, causing irreparable damage to the balance of the 2022 electoral campaign”.
