Lula lied about “stolen” furniture! The federal government reported that it found all 261 items of furniture from the Palácio da Alvorada. This is because they were given by the president’s government Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) as missing. The objects appeared inside the official residence of the Presidency of the Republic, in Brasília.
The information was published by the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper this Wednesday (20). Right at the beginning of Lula’s third term, the alleged disappearance of assets was the reason for accusations and attacks from the PT member and the first lady, Janja da Silvato the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro.
The then “disappearance” of the objects served as an argument for the federal government to make a purchase of several luxury furniture without bidding, which reached almost R$200 thousand reais. In this sense, R$65,000 were spent on a sofa and R$42,000 for a double bed. The Secretariat of Social Communication (Secom) informed that the objects make up the Union’s public heritage.
Opposition questioned Lula’s purchase
The purchase of furniture was even the subject of controversy due to the exemption from bidding, in such a way that it led opposition parliamentarians to question the court Union accounts (TCU). The case was archived by the rapporteur, Vital do Rêgodue to not meeting the admissibility requirements, as parliamentarians were unable to identify minimal signs of overpricing, overpricing or misuse of public funds in the episode.
Janja took a tour to show the absence of furniture and leaks. At the beginning of 2023, still living in a hotel, the Lula da Silva couple complained about the situation in Alvorada and Granja do Torto. The PT member even accused, in January of that year, that Jair and Michelle “took everything”, starting an intense exchange of barbs.
“I don’t know if it was the couple’s private things, but they took everything. So, we are making repairs, because it is a public asset”said Lula during breakfast with journalists covering the Palácio do Planalto.
“At least the top [do Palácio], it looks as if it hadn’t been inhabited, because it’s all dismantled, there’s no bed, there’s no sofa. Possibly, if it was his, he would have been right to take it. But, there it is a public thing”he concluded.
At the same time, Janja took a tour of the Palace to show the absence of furniture, leaks and damaged items. “The building is listed. We are thinking about listing the things inside Alvorada. So that this doesn’t happen again, for a ruler to arrive and remove things that are the heritage of the Brazilian State”said in January 2023.
Missing goods
During the same period, the press office of the Presidency of the Republic reported that 261 assets belonging to the official residence were missing. Some time later, based on an inventory survey, the furniture items dropped to 83 pieces of furniture. In September last year, the work ended and it was found that there were no missing items.
The report from the newspaper O TEMPO Brasília even made more than one request for the Access to Information Law (LAI) requesting data from the inventory survey, but the Presidency of the Republic informed that this work was not finished and, because of this, there was no document to forward.
In a recent LAI request, Folha de S. Paulo had access to the full report. Thus, when asked where the objects were, Secom of the Presidency of the Republic only responded that the furniture was “in the various dependencies” of the Palácio da Alvorada.
The response corroborates statements to the press given by Michelle Bolsonaro that the objects were stored in the warehouse and that the Lula da Silva couple made political use of it, accusing her and Jair Bolsonaro of disappearing with Alvorada’s assets.
Bolsonaro responds
Through his account on X, formerly Twitter, former president Jair Bolsonaro said that the president made a “false report of theft”. “All the furniture was in Alvorada. Lula committed a false report of theft,” he said.
Source: Atrevida
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
