Brazilian Silvio Almeida, ousted as minister 14 months ago when the first anonymous allegations against him emerged, has been formally accused by police of sexually harassing several women. Although the case remains under a secret summary, among the alleged victims stands out the Minister for Racial Equality, Marielle Franco. According to newspaper reports, Almeida touched him during a ministerial meeting in the presence of the head of the Federal Police. Almeida, a philosopher with a celebrated academic career, was one of Brazil’s most important black intellectuals when Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appointed him minister of human rights. He declares his innocence and says it’s all a campaign against him.
The police have sent the complaint against Almeida to the Supreme Court, which is hearing the case. This has in turn been transferred to the Attorney General of the Republic, who will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the alleged sexual harasser. The complaint is pending in the Supreme Court because Almeida was a minister when the reported events occurred. The former minister has fallen into ostracism.
There is little certainty on the matter because the process is secret. The magazine Piauí published an elaborate account based on a wide range of sources. It is known that Minister Franco gave a statement to the police, but practically did not speak publicly about the matter. Both Almeida and Franco, sister of murdered councilor Marielle Franco, were active in the black movement and came to government from worlds outside professional politics. They were two of the ministers of the Lula government most appreciated by Brazilian progressives.
The sexist attack suffered by the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, during a recent public event by a man, has put the spotlight on a type of violence that affects only women, but also reaches the most powerful among them.
The scandal erupted in September 2024 when the NGO Me Too Brasil, which defends victims of sexual violence, revealed that it had received anonymous complaints from five women against Minister Almeida. After the initial shock, given the public reputation of the defendants, President Lula decided to end the matter. He summoned him to his office and asked for his resignation. When he refused, she fired him.
The first anonymous information was supported hours later by the open testimony that a woman posted on Instagram. Professor Isabel Rodrigues said that, after having become friends with Almeida and sharing some coffees, in 2019, during a lunch with other people after a work meeting, he put his hand under her skirt and touched her private parts. “It took me a while to realize that I had been a victim,” he explained at the time.
