Lower House representative Celso Jacob (MDB-RJ) won't let a small thing like serving time in jail stand on the way of reelection. He is campaigning despite the fact that the Brazilian Supreme Court sentenced him on open conditions to seven years and two months for forgery.
The politician acknowledges that, according to the Clean Record Act, he should be ineligible for reelection. But he says he decided to give it a go, and consequently try to safeguard his spot in the House, in case an injunction from Justice Dias Toffoli, who is reviewing his case, comes through.
Jacob was convicted two years ago for having subcontracted a company to build childcare centers. Previously, the business had been disqualified from a public bidding process for that contract, but Jacob reversed the decision by forging part of a bill already approved by the city council.
All this happened in 2002, when he was the mayor of Três Rios, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
The representative started to serve his sentence in open conditions last year, but was still allowed to serve his term in the Brazilian Congress.
He attends sessions in the Lower House during the day and returns to a detention center in Brasília to spend the night. His conviction recently made the news again when he tried to sneak a piece of cheese in jail.
When Jacob was gathering the documentation to have his candidacy confirmed, he was surprised to see that the Supreme Court gave him a clear criminal record certificate. Asked to comment, Court officials said that there was an "inconsistency" in the system that issued the certificates.
"I am very well liked in my town. Some people even cry when they see how much I'm suffering," he said.
Translated by NATASHA MADOV
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