Brazil’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has called on the Federal Police to investigate the director general of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), Silvinei Vasques, for allegedly omitting road blockades by supporters of the president, Jair Bolsonaro, after his defeat in Sunday’s elections was certified.
According to the Brazilian Prosecutor’s Office, if it is proven that Vasques overlooked the blockades, the PRF general director could be charged with prevarication, a crime punishable by three months to one year in prison, and also carries a financial penalty, according to ‘O Globo’.
This Wednesday, at least 17 states in Brazil are still registering protests by supporters of President Bolsonaro, with more than a hundred road blockades for the third consecutive day.
The protests have been ongoing since former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Sunday’s elections. For his part, Bolsonaro, after more than 48 hours of silence, launched a speech in which he assured that he would comply with the Constitution, although he did not explicitly acknowledge his defeat.
VEHICLE INSPECTIONS On the other hand, the Public Ministry has also asked to investigate whether Vasques also committed prevarication when, in the second round of the elections, he reinforced the inspection of vehicles in a special operation carried out mainly in the Northeast region, where Lula won a large majority.
The Prosecutor’s Office wants clarification as to whether the general director respected the legislation or did not incur in a crime «against the free exercise of the right to vote». «The inspections carried out by the PRF did not comply with the order of the Superior Electoral Court,» reads the statement of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The shadow of suspicion now hangs over Vasques, who on Saturday, in the run-up to the second round of the elections, posted on his social networks a photograph of Bolsonaro’s ballot. He later recanted and removed the publication.
