Brazil's human rights minister accused of sexual harassment

By Lisandra Paraguassu

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil's government summoned Human Rights Minister Silvio Almeida on Friday to answer allegations that he sexually harassed several women, including another cabinet minister.

Almeida, an activist for the legal protection of minority rights, denied all allegations in a video posted on his social media, saying they were “absurd lies” and unfounded.

One of the women allegedly harassed is the well-known Minister for Racial Equality Anielle Franco, reported the local news portal Metropoles, citing 14 people, including government officials and friends of hers.

Franco, also a human rights activist, declined to comment on the report. Her sister, former Rio de Janeiro city councilor Marielle Franco, was murdered along with her driver in 2018. The case made international headlines.

Local non-governmental organization Me Too Brazil confirmed to Reuters that it had received allegations of sexual harassment against the minister and had provided assistance to the women involved. After obtaining the consent of the women involved, the non-governmental organization agreed to disclose the cases, but did not provide names or details.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he would meet separately with Almeida and Franco this afternoon.

“Those who engage in harassment will not remain in the government,” Lula said in an interview with a local radio station. However, the minister must first be guaranteed the right to self-defense.

The Brazilian government said in a statement that the allegations were serious and that the case would be treated “with the necessary rigor and urgency that situations of possible violence against women require.”

The country's Attorney General and the Comptroller General asked Almeida to provide clarifications. The Federal Police also announced that they had decided to open an investigation into the allegations.

Both Franco and Almeida have been part of the cabinet since the beginning of Lula's current term in 2023 and are considered important human rights activists in Brazil.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Text by Andre Romani; Editing by Aurora Ellis)