Former Bolsonaro Minister, Gustavo Bebianno Dies in Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Jair Bolsonaro’s former minister and pre-candidate for Mayor of Rio, Gustavo Bebianno, died on Saturday morning, March 14th in Teresópolis, Rio State’s Mountainous Region, following a heart attack.

Bebianno, 56 years old, was on his farm, with his son. He felt unwell and fell. He died soon after being rushed to a hospital. His death was confirmed by his friend and PSDB state president, Paulo Marinho.

“The city of Rio lost a candidate who would enrich the electoral debate, and I lost a brother,” Marinho said.

Bebianno’s body was referred to the Forensic Medical Institute (IML) of Teresópolis. According to detective Vinícius Galhardo, the medical team decided to forward the body to autopsy due to a facial injury caused by the fall in the bathroom.

“In a procedure like this, the body would be released in the hospital itself. The issue is that given the injury to his face due to the fall, the doctor called the police station and suggested the transfer to the IML. This is common. To avoid any questioning, I determined the transfer so that the tests could be performed and any doubts could be cleared. The exam has already been performed. The report pointed to a heart attack,” the delegate said.

On March 5th, the governor of São Paulo, João Doria, announced Gustavo Bebianno’s pre-candidacy as mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro. According to the party, the official announcement of the candidacy would be made on April 4th in the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro.

In addition to leading the PSL party, Bebianno also served as the General Secretariat of the Presidency for a month and 18 days. He was the pivotal figure in the Bolsonaro government’s first political crisis, sparked by the suspected use of the PSL’s “strawmen” candidates in the 2018 elections to embezzle public funds. He consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The former minister, at the time he was dismissed from office, told Rio City Councilor Carlos Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro’s son, that he had “love” and “affection” for the President and that he had no doubt that the Bolsonaro government “would be a success”.

Bebianno was the national president of the PSL during the presidential race. He was one of the closest figures to the president during the campaign and acted as one of the then candidate’s advisors in the race.

A trained attorney and a black belt in jiu-jitsu, Bebianno met Bolsonaro in 2017 when the president was still a federal deputy. At that time, he volunteered to work in Bolsonaro’s lawsuits for free.

Bebianno earned Bolsonaro’s trust to the point of leading the party during the election and to closely follow the then candidate’s recovery after the stabbing incident. Bebianno was also one of the first ministers announced by the Bolsonaro administration.

On social media, the former mayor of Rio Eduardo Paes mourned Bebianno’s death. “I regret the death of Gustavo Bebianno. In the last few months, we had been discussing extensively about Rio and what united us: the great love for this city. My deepest sympathy goes out to his family and to his PSDB colleagues”.

Source: G1