Brazil Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo Faces Criticism Over Nepotistic Appointments

Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB‑PB) appointed a municipal health coordinator from Piancó, Bruna Priscilla Vasconcelos Dantas Leite, to his Senate office as a senior parliamentary aide with a monthly salary of R$ 6,400 for a 40‑hour week, while she simultaneously holds a coordinate position at Piancó’s municipal health secretariat earning R$ 3,200 and also working 40 hours.

He also named André Avelino de Paiva Gadelha Terceiro, son of state deputy André Gadelha, as a junior aide in 2022 with a R$ 3,000 salary while he was a medical student. The junior aide left the Senate in March 2024 and now works as a doctor in João Pessoa with a R$ 12,400 salary. Earlier appointments included Giovanna Britto Villarim and pastor‑businessman Emídio Barbosa de Lima Brito, whose roles raised questions about compliance with law 8.112/1990 that bars public servants from holding managerial positions in private companies. The appointments have been criticised for overlapping duties, potential conflicts of interest and for circumventing the absence of a support office in Paraíba, suggesting the staff could not realistically perform duties in Brasília while maintaining full‑time municipal positions.