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The police raided Marcelo Crivella’s house at 06:30 in the morning. His concierge refused to open the door, but only relented when the prosecutor showed his search warrant. An hour later, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro was taken to the police station accused of leading a corruption system that embezzled around 80 million Swedish crowns during the four years he was mayor. According to the police investigation, the mayor paid 3 percent of all companies that sold products or services to the municipality.
Even the mayor is right hand was arrested. He is an entrepreneur who, despite not being an employee of the municipality, had a private office in the mayor’s office. In the investigation, the employer’s office is called the “bribery headquarters.”
Marcelo Crivella’s arrest has received a lot of attention in the Brazilian media and shows that the prosecution is not afraid to investigate Bolsonaro’s allies. What bolsters interest is that Crivella, who is a Pentecostal pastor, is also criticized for having suspended payments to hospital employees during the pandemic.
During his time as mayor, Crivella has prioritized Pentecostals for operations in the township’s congested hospital, banned sex ed at school, censored school books, and cut the contribution to the city’s annual carnival in half. . He has called homosexuality “terribly horrible” and has even banned art exhibitions showing homosexual relationships.
During the mayoral elections in October, he and President Bolsonaro recorded a video together, in which Marcelo Crivella claimed that no one in Rio has done more to combat corruption in the city than he has. An overwhelming majority did not believe the message but voted for it. At the turn of the year, Crivella will be replaced by center-right politician Eduardo Paes, who was mayor of the city between 2009 and 2016.
The president of Brasiliens, Jair Bolsonaro.
Photo: Evaristo Sa / AFP
When Bolsonaro won the presidential election two years ago, it was with the help of a rhetoric about stopping corruption in the country. Since then, one of his sons has been investigated for creating an elaborate system of corruption within the Rio de Janeiro state legislature. One of Bolsonaro’s allies in the Senate was caught trying to hide SEK 50,000 in underwear during a house search and now his closest ally in Rio, Marcelo Crivella, is in custody for corruption. The fact that two of Bolsonaro’s elected sons are part of Crivella’s party strengthens ties between the families.
In connection with the arrest, another 25 people were taken away for questioning. Several of them were arrested and imprisoned in the Benfica district. In order for the mayor to avoid sharing a cell with others, his lawyer managed to convince a judge that Crivella, 63, is in the risk group for covid-19. The judge decided on house arrest, which means that the mayor accused of corruption will spend Christmas Eve at his home with a shackle on his foot. The only restriction, other than not being able to leave the house, is that you are not allowed to use your phone.
