Brazilian government minister resigns after being charged with corruption

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian government minister resigned Tuesday following charges of corruption dating back to his days as a lawmaker.

Communications Minister Juscelino Filho said in a statement that he left the Cabinet to focus on his legal defense. He is the first Cabinet minister of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ‘s third, non-consecutive administration, which started in 2023, to exit after corruption charges.

The 40-year-old Filho, who will keep his seat in Congress as a lawmaker of a center-right party, denied any wrongdoing in his comments. He is accused of using public funds allocated for road paving in Maranhao state for personal purposes, local media reported.

Earlier on Tuesday, Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet filed charges against Filho, but the content of the case against him remains sealed.

Filho’s lawyers said in a statement that “the case has no relation to his work at the ministry of communications, where his management — just like in all the public positions he has held — is based on transparency.”

The case marks a change in Lula’s approach to government ministers accused of graft. The leftist leader repeatedly shielded members of the Cabinet in similar cases during his first two terms in office (2003-2010), often forcing them out only if they were found guilty.

In June, Lula said after the federal police accused Filho that he would have to leave the job if the country’s prosecutor-general charged him. He has worked for the federal government since 2014.