A CLOSE ally of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro resigned as head of the Caixa Economica Federal public bank following accusations of sexual harassment, the government said yesterday.

Pedro Guimaraes, 51, has been accused by five women of sexual harassment in the workplace, the Metropoles news website reported yesterday.

Guimaraes, who has often been seen at Bolsonaro’s side at public events and on official trips, denies the accusations and called them “cruel, unjust” on his Instagram account.

He said he was resigning to avoid causing “harm to the institution or to the government by being a target for political rancour in an election year.”

Far right leader Bolsonaro named Daniella Marques, who was previously in charge of productivity and competitiveness at the Economy Ministry, as Guimaraes’ successor.

Former army captain Bolsonaro, 67, is seeking a second successive mandate in an October election, but he trails far behind leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in opinion polls.

In the latest by Datafolha, published last week, Lula polled as the top choice for 47% of voters compared to just 28% for Bolsonaro. – AFP, June 30, 2022.