Brazil corruption: Is the government in crisis?
- 12 April 2016
- From the section Latin America & Caribbean
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Reuters
A congressional committee in Brazil has recommended the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff for allegedly manipulating government accounts.
Mrs Rousseff faces charges of breaking budget laws to support her re-election in 2014.
Millions of Brazilians have called for her impeachment and the arrest of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Here we take a closer look at the problems in Brazil and what has gone wrong since President Rousseff was re-elected for a second term in October 2014.
Is Brazil in crisis?
Brazil's largest circulation newspaper, Folha de S Paulo, seems to think so. It has a whole section entitled "Brazil in crisis" under which it lists its latest articles on the recent protests, various corruption investigations and attempts to impeach President Rousseff.
Rio-based O Globo speaks in its editorial (in Portuguese) of a "deep and wide crisis driven by the biggest nationwide street demonstrations in the history of the country".
And it is not just the media who are speaking of a crisis.
Senator Tasso Jereissati of Brazil's opposition Social Democratic Party also spoke of a crisis and said that within his party "there is full realisation that the moment is quite serious".
Economy in the doldrums
Brazil's economy is going through its worst recession in more than three decades following a drop in prices for Brazilian commodities such as oil, iron ore and soya.
In 2015, the economy shrank by 3.8%, its worst annual performance since 1981.
Inflation reached 10.7% at the end of last year, a 12-year-high.
Unemployment increased to 9% in 2015 and economists predict it could go into double figures in the coming months.
Brazil's currency lost a third of its value against the dollar in 2015 and its value dropped again after the mass protests of 13 March.
Corruption
One of the main complaints by protesters who took to the streets on 13 March was the high level of corruption which has tainted the highest echelons of business and politics in Brazil.
Since the Workers' Party came to power in 2003, there has been a series of corruption scandals involving politicians from the governing party and also opposition parties. The two biggest are:
- Mensalao: Name given to a corruption scheme in which public funds were illegally used to pay members of Congress in exchange for backing the government in crucial votes. The scandal first broke in 2005. By the time the Supreme Court concluded its trial in 2012, 25 politicians, bankers and businessmen had been convicted, some of whom were top members of the Workers' Party.
- Operation Car Wash: Name given to an investigation launched in March 2014 into allegations that Brazil's biggest construction firms overcharged state-oil company Petrobras for building contracts. Part of their windfall would then be handed to Petrobras executives and politicians who were in on the deal. Prosecutors allege that the Workers' Party partly financed its campaigns and expenses through these kickbacks.
Who has been convicted?
The allegations of corruption are far reaching and include top politicians and businessmen. Twenty-five people were convicted in connection with the Mensalao scandal. They included:
- Jose Dirceu, President Lula's ex-chief of staff
- Jose Genoino, former head of the Workers' Party
- Henrique Pizzolato, former marketing director of Banco do Brasil
Among the top names convicted in connection with Operation Car Wash are:
- Marcelo Odebrecht, construction tycoon sentenced to 19 years in prison
- Joao Vaccari, treasurer of the Workers' Party, sentenced to 15 years and four months
- Nestor Cervero, former Petrobras executive sentenced to five years
President Rousseff under fire
President Dilma Rousseff's approval ratings have plummeted since she narrowly won the presidential election in October 2014.
She now faces a vote to impeach her over allegations that she broke budget laws to support her re-election in 2014.
If two-thirds of Brazil's lower house votes in favour, the impeachment will be referred to the Senate.
If the Senate decides by a simple majority to put Mrs Rousseff on trial, she will be immediately suspended for up to six months and Vice-President Michel Temer will take office.
According to a Datafolha poll released on 28 February, only 11% of respondents across the country said the president's performance was "good or excellent".
Ms Rousseff was head of the board at Petrobras from 2003 to 2010. Many of her opponents say she must have known about the corruption scandal.
She has always denied any involvement and a parliamentary commission cleared her of any wrongdoing in October 2015.
The brief detention by police of her mentor and predecessor in office, ex-President Lula, further hurt the president's image.
Lula in the spotlight
President Lula, who governed the country for eight years from 2003 and was one of Brazil's most popular politicians, was briefly detained on 4 March as part of Operation Car Wash.
He was questioned over allegations that he received "illicit benefits" from the Petrobras kickbacks scheme, such as having a construction firm involved in the scandal renovate a luxury beachfront apartment and a ranch allegedly owned by Lula's family.
Prosecutors filed charges of money laundering against Lula. Federal Judge Sergio Moro will now have to decide if he accepts those charges.
President Rousseff has offered Lula the post of chief of staff, which shields him from Judge Moro's investigation.
Under Brazilian law, cabinet members can only be tried by the Supreme Court, not by a federal judge.
The move is highly divisive among Brazilians. Some believe he is the victim of a political vendetta while others argue that his alleged misdeeds are catching up with him.
The fact that Lula has hinted that he would be willing to run again for the presidency in 2018 has further increased the scrutiny he is under.
A country divided
Supporters and opponents of President Rousseff and Lula have held rival rallies in the past weeks and feelings are running high on both sides.
Supporters of the governing Workers' Party point to the achievements the Rousseff and Lula administrations brought about, such as lifting millions of people out of poverty and reducing inequality.
They say that the allegations against them are a smear campaign designed to drive Ms Rousseff from office and prevent Lula from standing for the presidency in 2018.
They say that the massive corruption investigations are a sign that under the Rousseff government such crimes are being punished rather than swept under the carpet as in previous administrations.
The fact that high-ranking members of the Workers' Party have been convicted, they argue, is proof that there is no immunity.
Opponents of President Rousseff accuse her of mismanaging the economy and say her government is deeply corrupt.
They say they are fed up with the Workers' Party after its 13 years in power and demand a clean slate.
