Wife of Brazil's Foreign Minister Hitches Ride on Air Force Plane to Vacation in Paris
A few days before taking over Planalto Palace, then-president-elect Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) distributed a booklet with ethical norms and procedures that his subordinates should follow
The wife of Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo hitched a ride on a Brazilian Air Force plane for a vacation in Paris, France.
The flight was scheduled by the Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) government for the minister's visit to an OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) meeting in the French capital, May 20-25 this year.
The wife of the foreign minister, Maria Eduarda de Seixas Corrêa, is also a diplomat and works as head of the Training and Improvement Division, an administrative department responsible for employee improvement at Itamaraty.
She stayed in Paris as a tourist, without paying tickets and sharing a room with her husband. The government funded the lodging since Ernesto was on an official mission.
Authorities request FAB flights for the purpose of fulfilling work schedules. A few days before taking over Planalto Palace, then-president-elect Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) distributed a booklet with ethical norms and procedures that his subordinates should follow.
In the chapter reserved for official flights, the booklet states that only the minister and his accompanying staff may use the aircraft.
The justifications for requesting flights must be, according to the booklet, for reasons of safety and medical emergency or business travel.
The couple stayed at the Bedford Hotel, located in the center of Paris, less than two miles from the city's most famous avenue, the Champs Elysees. Traditionally, the hotel is known to have housed Brazilian emperor Pedro the second and conductor and composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon