Brazil police search home of likely presidential candidate

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s Federal Police connected Wednesday searched the location of Ciro Gomes, a left-wing person expected to tally for president adjacent year, arsenic portion of an probe into corruption regarding works connected a World Cup stadium successful northeastern metropolis Fortaleza.

On his authoritative Twitter account, Gomes confirmed the search.

The Federal Police said successful a connection that the 14 hunt and seizure warrants purpose to analyse fraud and bribe payments to politicians and nationalist servants for works connected the Castelao shot stadium successful Ceara state’s superior up of the 2014 shot tournament.

Gomes’ member Cid, presently a senator, was politician of Ceara astatine the time. Police besides searched his residence, according to reports successful assorted section newspapers. In their statement, constabulary didn’t corroborate who was targeted. The property bureau of Cid Gomes didn’t instantly instrumentality calls oregon requests for comment.

On Twitter, Ciro Gomes expressed disgust with the operation, claiming it revealed that President Jair Bolsonaro had transformed Brazil into a constabulary state. He denied immoderate wrongdoing, stressing that helium held nary nationalist bureau related to the alleged crimes nor had immoderate transportation with them.

“Until this morning, I imagined that we lived, adjacent with its imperfections, successful a antiauthoritarian country,” Gomes wrote. “I person nary uncertainty that this precocious and disproportionate enactment has the wide nonsubjective of trying to harm my pre-candidacy for president.”

Gomes, who was Ceara’s politician successful the mid-1990s, has tally for president 3 times, astir precocious successful 2018 against then-candidate Bolsonaro. Upon failing to marque the runoff against Bolsonaro, Gomes declined to endorse the campaigner from the leftist Workers’ Party.

Ahead of the adjacent year’s election, aboriginal polls amusement erstwhile President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party holding a commanding lead, with astir fractional of respondents accidental they mean to ballot for him, according to a survey published by pollster Ipec connected Tuesday. Just implicit 20% of radical accidental they program to ballot for Bolsonaro and 5% for Gomes.

Da Silva took to Twitter to explicit his solidarity with Ciro and Cid Gomes, saying some politicians merit respect and that the constabulary hunt was needless.

Police said successful their connection that investigations began successful 2017, stemming from indications that a institution paid bribes successful bid to triumph the declaration for works connected the stadium. There were indications of 11 cardinal reais ($1.9 million) successful bribes paid successful currency oregon disguised arsenic run donations, the connection said.