In David Almeida’s administration, sister-in-law and cousin of the mayor double wages as teachers in Manaus City Hall

Bruno Pacheco and Priscilla Peixoto – from Cenarium

MANAUS – Teacher in the Municipal Department of Education (Semed), the sister-in-law of Mayor David Almeida (Avante), Angela Celia Souza de Almeida, received a salary of $ 4,700.00 fulfilling double journey as an educator in Manaus, in August 2020. In Almeida’s administration, her salary doubled and went to R$8,288.00 in the same month, with two positions, according to the Transparency Portal of the city government, after she won a bonus in payment, known as “jeton”. But she was not the only relative of the mayor to receive the benefit. It is worth remembering that, according to the MEC, the salary floor for professionals in the public network of basic education in early career was adjusted by 12.84% for 2020, from R$ 2,557.74 to R$ 2,886.24.

Angela is the widow of the mayor’s firstborn brother, Delano Almeida, who died in August of this year, at age 60. She was appointed on February 16 this year to be part of the Permanent Commission on Ethics and Syndication of the Manaus City Hall, with the position of secretary. The appointment is published in the Diário Oficial do Município (DOM) and was signed by David Almeida himself.

Next to Angela is Rosa Denise Diniz Pereira, David’s cousin, who also received the same benefit. Rosa, however, was appointed to the commission as a “member”. In the education department, Rosa holds the positions of pedagogue and middle level teacher, also according to the Transparency Portal.

Upgrade

Angela de Almeida started receiving an “upgrade” in salary in February this year, first, only with the “Middle Level Teacher” position. According to the Transparency Portal, of the Manaus City Hall, from April 2021, she also received a higher payment through the other position she occupies, that of “Professor Superior Level”. Adding the two benefits, Angela’s liquid remuneration in April reached R$14,957.15.

June was the month in which the teacher received the highest liquid remuneration in the Manaus City Hall, adding the values of her two positions in Semed. As a middle level teacher, Angela’s salary was R$5,975.01. As a high school teacher, she received R$7,894.77. In total, the benefit came to R$18,288.790.

In the case of Rosa Pereira, David Almeida cousin, the Manaus City Hall increased her salary from March this year. Only as a middle level teacher she received R$6,306.48, but, in the second position she occupies in Semed, she earned R$2,204.06, in March.

As of April 2021, Rosa’s remuneration was increased for both positions, so that she received R$5,762.40 as a teacher and R$9,785.48 as an educator that month. The total obtained by her, adding the two jobs together, was R$15,547.88, in April alone.

The most recent liquid remuneration of Rosa, available on the Transparency Portal of the Manaus City Hall, is R$ 4,945.47 as a teacher and R$ 4,307.16 as an educator. The sum of the values reaches R$ 9,252.63, in August, as seen in the table below:

Principle of impersonality

Although the nominations of the sister-in-law and cousin of the mayor of Manaus are not considered illegal practices, a legal expert consulted by CENARIUM, who preferred not to be identified, recalls the understanding of the former minister of the Supreme Court (STF), Cezar Peluzo, pointing out that the case rules against the “principle of impersonality”, which deals with the ethical precepts that must be followed by both agents and the public administration and establishes that impartiality must be defended without discrimination and privileges.

“The problem is not to define who are relatives for civil purposes, but to define which people, under the class of kinship, tend to be chosen, not for public interest, but for interest of personal character”, pointed out the jurist, paraphrasing Peluzo, who was also president of the Court.

Moreover, the Constitution of the Republic establishes, in the caput of Article 37, that the public administration, in the performance of its functions, must obey the principles of legality, impersonality, morality, publicity, and efficiency. “The direct and indirect public administration of any of the Powers of the Union, the States, the Federal District, and the Municipalities shall obey the principles of legality, impersonality, morality, publicity, and efficiency”, says the Article.

Relatives again

This is not the first time that Mayor David Almeida “benefits relatives” in his administration. In August this year, CENARIUM published an article denouncing the irregular benefiting of relatives of Fernanda Aryel Almeida, Almeida’s daughter, “raffled” to win an apartment in Residencial Manauara II, located in the north of the capital.

The apartments financed by the Caixa Econômica Federal (Caixa) are intended for families with incomes up to R$ 2 thousand through the program “My House, My Life”, however, the list of those contemplated, included the mother of Fernanda Aryel, Rosalina Fernandes Rodrigues who, incidentally, was stationed in Manaus City Hall, with a salary of R$ 6,8 thousand.

Besides Rosalina, Suellen Fernandes Rodrigues and Surreila Rodrigues, both aunts of the mayor’s daughter, were also the “lucky ones” and won apartments on the site. At the time, Suellen, a commissioned employee, received a salary of a little more than R$4,000 and Surreila Rodrigues received R$3,600.

The news resonated in the Jornal Nacional and also among parliamentarians of the State, social movements and authorities who demanded explanations about ‘lottery’ of houses that should prioritize vulnerable families, such as, for example, the families affected by the fire in the Educandos neighborhood, south zone of Manaus, in 2018.

The CENARIUM contacted the Manaus City Hall to know the position on the subject, but until the publication of this story there was no return.