Brazil’s Lula says he will decide whether to dismiss minister facing sexual harassment allegations

Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Brazilian president’s office says the government has asked the human rights minister, Silvio Almeida, to “provide clarifications” to investigators regarding reports that he has been involved in sexual harassment, without providing any details of the allegations. In a statement released late Thursday, the presidential palace said that the federal government recognizes the seriousness of the allegations, and is handling the case with the rigor and speed that situations regarding possible violence against women deserve. Almeida rejected the allegations, saying it is a “campaign to tarnish my image as a Black man in a prominent position in government.”