Allegations of sexual abuse bring down Brazil's human rights minister By Reuters
Written by Lisandra Paraguassu
BRASILIA – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday dismissed Human Rights Minister Silvio Almeida following allegations of sexual harassment against many women, including another Cabinet minister.
“The president sees it as inappropriate to keep a minister in office looking into the nature of allegations of sexual abuse,” Lula's office said in a statement.
A police investigation has been opened, it added.
Almeida, an activist for the legal protection of minority rights, denied the allegations in a video on her social media, calling them “absurd lies” and baseless.
One of the women suspected of being harassed is the well-known Minister of Racial Equality Anielle Franco, reports the local newspaper Metropoles, citing 14 people, including government officials and her friends.
Franco, who is also a human rights activist, declined to comment when asked about the report. Her sister, former Rio de Janeiro city council member Marielle Franco, was killed in 2018 along with her driver in a case that was reported around the world.
“A person who abuses will not stay in the government,” said Lula earlier in an interview on local radio.
Both Franco and Almeida have been in the cabinet since the start of Lula's current term in 2023 and are seen in Brazil as important human rights activists.
