Former Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Silvio Almeida, is devastated and without strength, according to his friends in the academic, legal and political fields.
Fired by President Lula (PT) on Friday (6), the former minister has received support from those closest to him, who are concerned about what might happen to him from now on.
The now former minister cried during his conversation with President Lula, and has also shown great sadness in his conversations with people in his inner circle. Friends who spoke to him after his dismissal say that Silvio is distraught.
He continues to vehemently deny the accusation, even in private conversations.
There is a fear that this feeling of sadness will deepen in the face of new difficulties that are likely to arise after the scandal, and that this will lead to depression.
The government’s dismissal over accusations of sexually harassing women, including the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, could lead to losses far greater than simply losing his job, his friends fear.
His own reputation in the area of human rights is shaken, and it is not known if, how and how soon it can be recovered.
All of the former minister’s future plans, including pursuing a political career by running for elected office, would therefore have gone down the drain. He was planning to run for the Senate in São Paulo.
Silvio Almeida is a university professor, lawyer and philosopher, graduated in law from Mackenzie University and in philosophy from the University of São Paulo (USP).
One of his main activities, in addition to teaching, was to give lectures on racism, an area in which he was recognized as one of the greatest experts in the country, with several books published.
Professors, lawyers and politicians who live with him and who spoke to the column are divided in relation to the allegations.
There are those who believe them, and regret that Silvio made such a serious mistake in his life, which also has criminal consequences — harassment is a crime.
Others have doubts about what really happened. They believe that Minister Anielle Franco and other women would not invent something so serious against him. But they still want to have more complete information about the allegations to reach a conclusion.
And there are those who do not believe in Silvio Almeida’s responsibility, based on years of living with a friend whom they define as attentive, respectful and affable. For these people, he is the victim of racism and a conspiracy.
Lawyers close to Silvio Almeida believe that, regardless of whether he is guilty or not, he is being lynched and is not being given the opportunity to defend himself.
They claim that even in cases of serious accusations such as sexual harassment, the constitutional precepts of broad defense must be respected — which would not be happening in this case.
com BIANKA VIEIRA, KARINA MATIAS e MANOELLA SMITH
