BRASILIA: After revelations that the Brazilian military had bought Viagrapills for its troops, a lawmaker claimed Tuesday it had also acquired 60penile implants — for reasons that were not divulged.
Congressman Eliaz Vaz, who also exposed the Viagra spending, said thedefense ministry had “approved the purchase of 60 penile prostheses.”
The ministry did not respond to an *AFP* request for comment.
“The question we ask is: why is the (President Jair) Bolsonaro governmentspending public money to pay for these prostheses?” Vaz said in a note sentto *AFP*.
“The Brazilian people struggle to get medicines… and yet a group (ofpeople) is treated with expensive prostheses.”
Vaz said the ministry had bought 60 “inflatable silicone penile” implantsat a cost of between 50,000 and 60,000 reais (about $10,600 to $12,800)each, for three different military hospitals.
The total cost was more than $700,000.
He said he had obtained the information via the government’s so-called“transparency portal,” which allows access to details on public spending.
The congressman said he would report the matter to federal prosecutors forinvestigation.
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On Monday, the military came in for stiff scrutiny after Vaz revealed apurchase of 35,000 units of “the little blue pill” — another name forViagra, eliciting a flurry of jokes on social media.
The order was for sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra.
The defense ministry replied the pills were “to treat patients withpulmonary arterial hypertension,” or a type of high blood pressure.
The explanation did little to stem social media users’ mirth.
“This explains why the military’s support for Bolsonaro just rises andrises,” quipped one, playing on the far-right president’s tightrelationship with the armed forces.
“Some say these pills are to help the armed forces f*** democracy evenharder,” wrote satirical news site *Sensacionalista*. -APP/AFP
