Lies, damn lies, and prevarication

According to the the saying popularized (but not coined) by Mark Twain, there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics. But the truth is that in English we actually do have a lot of words that all mean the same general thing: lie, white lie, fib, equivocation, misstatement, and prevarication.

Portuguese has a similar word: PREVARICAÇÃO. But as with all false cognates, that similarity is misleading. Translating from the entry for the verb prevaricar from dicio.com.br:

Fail to fulfill an obligation, a duty
Abuse power
Break the laws that regulate ethics or good manners
Practice adultery
Retell something that was told in confidence; break the trust of someone; betray
Cause the corruption of; corrupt

As might be expected from such a definition there is a CRIME DE PREVARICAÇÃO which is literally the “crime of failing to perform duties of office” or criminal misconduct in public office, sometimes called “nonfeasance” to distinguish it from “misfeasance” (lawful but inappropriate conduct) and “malfeasance” (wrongful or unlawful conduct). According to the esteemed Michaelis dictionary, this is: “Crime cometido por funcionário público ao retardar ou deixar de praticar, indevidamente, ato de ofício, ou praticá-lo contra disposição legal expressa, com o intuito de satisfazer interesse pessoal.” (“A crime committed by a public employee by delaying or failing to perform, unduly, an act of office, or performing it against express legal provisions, for the purpose of satisfying a personal interest.”) The Brazilian criminal code uses exactly the same wording.

President Bolsonaro would like everyone to know/believe that this crime does not apply to him, only to public servants…