The president of the state bank of Brazil, very close to Jair Bolsonaro, is accused of sexual harassment

A group of officials from the Federal Economic Bank of Brazil reported having been sexually harassed by the president of that Brazilian state bank, Pietro Guimaraesone of President Jair Bolsonaro’s most trusted men.

There were five women who spoke to the local portal Metrópoles, who reported that they “felt abused” by Guimaraes “on several occasions” and “always during work commitments”.

They talked “unauthorized intimate touch”, “inappropriate” behavior and “unorthodox invitations”as published by local media.

The case has been investigated by the Federal Public Ministry since the end of last year, when the women decided to report the facts.

According to these testimonies collected by Metrópoles, “many of these incidents” occurred during business trips, where officials are sometimes invited “to the swimming pool or sauna in the company of the bank president, during off-peak hoursend”.

“It is common to grab the waist and neck. It happened with me and several colleagues. He treats women who are close to him as if they were his “, said one of the complainants on condition of anonymity.

Others denounce “pinching and groping buttocks and breasts“by Guimaraes.

These testimonies also indicated that Guimaraes once proposed to “organize a private carnival out of season, in which nobody would belong to anyone“and” with all naked “.

It was then that one of the alleged victims of harassment remembered that the top manager of the bank turned to her and promised her “tear it until it bleeds“.

According to the testimonies of Metropoles, during these trips the women also received calls to go to his room to bring him personal items.

One of the officials said she had gone to give him what he asked for and Guimaraes then asked her to come back a few minutes later to “talk about her professional career”.

“He said to me, ‘Go over there, take a shower and come here later so we can talk about your career,'” the worker revealed.

Some of the complainants confessed to having suffered panic and anxiety attacks when they are summoned for a business trip with Guimaraes.

In a note sent to “Metrópoles”, Caixa Economica Federal stated that it “was not aware of the complaints” and promised to “take measures to eliminate behavior related to any type of harassment”.

Who is Pedro Guimaraes?

He is 51 years old and assumed the presidency of Caixa Federal shortly after Jair Bolsonaro took office as president. He has since become one of the closest members of the government to the president.

For months and months, especially during the pandemic period, he was a frequent figure in Bolsonaro’s traditional online broadcasts on Thursday nights.

Even today he is often a regular guest of important presidential meetings and apparitions, and is always at the side of Jair Bolsonaro. A fortnight ago, for example, he played a leading role in the ceremony held at the San Paolo stock exchange.

Days earlier, when the president had traveled to Pernambuco to fly over flood-affected areas and announce the dispatch of federal resources to the state, he was present.

In last week’s live he was the guest of honor, wearing a vest with the Caixa logo. And he also accompanied Bolsonaro in delivering affordable housing in Maceió.

Thanks to the visibility he gained after joining the government, Guimaraes came to consider running as a deputy or senator in the upcoming elections. According to Metrópoles, before arriving in Brasilia, Guimaraes already had a long career in the financial market.

With information from agencies

DB