The latest in a succession of departures from the government of Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian Minister of Education, Abraham Weintraub, announced Thursday his resignation after a series of controversies. "This time it's true, I'm leaving the Ministry of Education," said 48-year-old Abraham Weintraub in a video posted on Twitter, where he appears next to the president. The government of Jair Bolsonaro has known since taking office ten resignations or dismissals of ministers, because of controversy or for incompatibility with the president, such lately the last two holders of Health, in full pandemic of the coronavirus
An economist by training, Weintraub, a fervent supporter of the far-right president, announced that he would take up a post "in the coming days" at the World Bank and did not wish "for the moment to speak of the reasons for (his ) departure ” . Since taking office in April 2019, the Minister has been the most controversial figure in the government. He made racist anti-Chinese statements on Twitter, downplayed Nazi atrocities and called Supreme Court justices "assholes" who should be "thrown in jail" . Carrying less consequence but disturbing for a Minister of Education, his spelling mistakes made him the laughing stock of Internet users.
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Sunday, Abraham Weintraub had participated in a demonstration of radical bolsonarists against the Supreme Court in Brasilia and had been fined 2,000 reais (330 euros) for not wearing a protective mask against the coronavirus, theoretically compulsory in Brazil where the pandemic is soaring. The departure of Weintraub was expected, especially since his inflammatory comments on the judges of the Supreme Court, the institution with which Jair Bolsonaro is currently engaged in a showdown. The High Court in hand over various investigations potentially devastating for the President and his relatives and the departure of the Minister was seen as a gesture of appeasement towards her.
The passage of Abraham Weintraub to the ministry will have been marked by sharp drops in credits to federal universities having thrown hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in the streets, in May 2019. Anxious to express his support for this unconditional faithful, the president has spoke of their shared love of "freedom" and rewarded Abraham Weintraub with a handshake and a hug.
