In addition to a renowned artist, Agnaldo Timóteo served as a parliamentarian in Brasília, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The musician granted an interview to journalist Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho for his series of articles that he publishes daily on the Tribuna da Imprensa Livre website about the legalization of the gaming sector in Brazil:
Luiz Carlos Prestes Filho: What is your view on the importance of gaming regulation in Brazil?
Agnaldo Timóteo: First of all, I understand that the citizen must have the freedom to spend his money as he wishes. The State in this specific case cannot impose its authority. Why do citizens have to go to Las Vegas or Punta del Este to place their money bets? Absurd. But from what I follow, today the Chamber of Deputies of Brasília wants to legalize the Resort Casinos. Casino is something for the rich, we have to legalize the Jogo do Bicho, which is the game of the people, which is not addictive, which is democratic and 100% honest!
As a federal deputy, what were the referrals made in favor of regulation?
As a legislator, unfortunately, I never submitted a specific project on gaming. But whenever the topic was covered, I made radical pronouncements in favor of the freedom to play. Also, because I have always been treated very well by the ‘bicheiros’ (Jogo do Bicho operators). I did not have the privilege of former presidents Tancredo Neves, Fernando Collor or Fernando Henrique Cardoso. They could ask for money from the Industry Federations or Trade Associations. If I had executive positions, I could ask for money for my campaigns at Shell or the automotive industry conglomerate. I never had that privilege. So, I asked for and received money from Jogo do Bicho. Even for my artistic activities. I never hid that the ‘bicheiros’ always treated me with dignity throughout my life and musical trajectory. I would like to highlight that the ‘bicheiros’, who helped me so much, never asked for anything in return. I am a romantic singer; I have nothing to give but my voice. Now the question remains. Did entrepreneurs and companies, industry federations and trade associations ask for something in return to support the aforementioned former presidents of the Republic?
Should all kind of games be regulated?
This must be resolved by the experts. There may be some impediments to some modalities. But again, you have to legalize Jogo do Bicho. This is a century-old practice in our country. And I'm Brazilian. Jogo do Bicho is like samba and carnival. A popular tradition of betting that crossed all democratic regimes and authoritarian military governments, throughout the history of the Republic of Brazil. Today, more than one million professionals work as bookmakers on sidewalks and other direct activities. Of course, these workers pay taxes for self-employed people so that, when they reach retirement age, they can live with dignity. These professionals cannot declare that they work for Bicho. Then, they choose other professions such as porters, mechanics, electricians, firefighters, or drivers, among others. Why not bring this one million Brazilians to legality? The bicheiros openly wish to contribute to social development.
It is pure hypocrisy that the tax and police bodies - every year - announce in a tone of discovery, the existence of money from the misdemeanor. After more than 100 years of existence, the Jogo do Bicho is suddenly discovered. It moves dirty money! They want to convince me that my money and the money of millions of Brazilians, who bet on Bicho every day, is dirty! Do you want me to believe that only the money from Mega Sena, Quina, Loto and horse racing is clean? This is immorality! When there are movements against the ‘bicheiros’, I realize that the government really wants to take this type of game into their hands that never had scams. Well, it never happened at Jogo do Bicho anything like the case of fraud of the Budget Dwarfs. How sad it was to see politicians and executives of the Federal Government getting their hands dirty, stealing public money from the lotteries managed by Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF).
What is your opinion about the Criminal Misdemeanor Law?
A freak! The effects of Law 3688 must be canceled. We are in a different world from 1941. The Legalization of the Jogo do Bicho is fundamental today. But the authorization must consider that this type of betting must be managed by those who understand. We cannot allow the Jogo do Bicho legal to be transformed into a structure to create more job hangers for those caught up in the bureaucrats of the executive, legislative and judiciary. So are the lotteries administered by CEF. I always see pressure from government authorities to try to create a formula that promotes depletion by popular interest in the games of the Jogo do Bicho. So much so that they invented Loto, Mega Sena, Quina, Sports Lotteries and Scratch Cards for this purpose. The Jogo do Bicho is so spectacular that it survived all these attacks.
You met Castor de Andrade, Carlinhos Maracanã and Luizinho Drummond, you are friends with Anísio Abraão David. What is your opinion about their contribution to Brazilian culture?
You see, when making complaints against the ‘bicheiros’, they never count what they invested in cultural events. How much did Castor de Andrade invest in Padre Miguel's Independent Youth? Luizinho Drummond at Imperatriz Leopoldinense, Ailton Guimarães Jorge at Vila Isabel and Anísio Abraão David at Beija-Flor de Nilópolis? Do you think that these schools were structured only from the art of samba? Samba has its strength, of course, but the ‘bicheiros’ have always arrived together, the time has come to acknowledge this openly.
LUIZ CARLOS PRESTES FILHO
Executive Director of the newspaper Tribuna da Imprensa Livre; Filmmaker, graduated in Documentary Film Direction for Television and Cinema from the State Film Institute of the Soviet Union; Specialist in Cultural Economy and Local Economic Development; He coordinated studies on the contribution of Culture to the GDP of the State of Rio de Janeiro (2002) and on the productive chains of the Music Economy (2005) and Carnival (2009); He is the author of the book “The Greatest Show on Earth - 30 years of the Sambadrome” (2015).
Source: Tribuna de Imprensa Livre
