Alleged Marielle murder mastermind to face ethics committee
The House Ethics Committee on Wednesday approved by 16-1 a preliminary motion to move forward with the impeachment of Congressman Chiquinho Brazão, who has been charged with the 2018 murder of Rio de Janeiro City Councilor Marielle Franco.
The vote paves the way for a new report on whether he should be removed from office, to be voted in the coming weeks or months.
Mr. Brazão, his younger brother Domingos Brazão, and former Rio State Police Chief Rivaldo Barbosa were arrested on March 24 for obstruction of justice in the case, a development that made massive headlines in Brazil. The União Brasil party quickly expelled Mr. Brazão from its ranks. On April 10, the House upheld the Supreme Court decision ordering his pre-trial detention.
Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes were shot dead on the night of March 14, 2018. One year later, two former police officers were arrested under suspicion of having committed the double murder. In 2023, Élcio Queiroz confessed to participating in the hit as the getaway driver, and earlier this year, triggerman Ronnie Lessa struck a plea bargain confessing to being the shooter.
The final Federal Police report on the case concluded that the Brazão brothers were the masterminds of the crime due to their involvement with so-called “militias,” the urban paramilitary police mafias that control vast territories in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
The motion to impeach Mr. Brazão was presented on March 27, days after his arrest, by the Socialism and Freedom Party (Psol), the same as the late Ms. Franco’s. Ms. Rocha, a member of the Workers’ Party, was selected as the rapporteur after several other lawmakers declined the role, which is responsible for the final draft and decision to be put to a vote.
Psol argued that Mr. Brazão should be impeached due to the feds identifying him as the mastermind behind “a barbaric crime” and that his presence as a lawmaker is a “shame” for the House.
Congressman Gutemberg Reis from Rio de Janeiro was the only one to vote today against the preliminary motion to greenlight Mr. Brazão’s impeachment.
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