On Tuesday, October 9th, Brazil’s Supreme Court found former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s first chief of staff from 2003 to 2005 Jose Dirceu Oliveira e Silva, 66, co-founder of the governing left wing Workers’ Party (PT) in the early 1980’s who was once considered as the natural successor to Lula, former Workers Party Chairman Jose Genoino, currently an adviser to the Defense Ministry, and former PT Treasurer Delubio Soares guilty of overseeing a wide-ranging cash-for-votes a scheme of siphoning millions of dollars in public money to pay secret monthly bribes – known as “mensalao” (or “big monthly payments”) - which prosecutors said equal in some cases to more than $10,000, to opposition lawmakers of other parties in the National Congress to buy their votes for the PT’s leftist government during the first Lula administration in 2003-2005, to build the congressional majority that the government failed to obtain at the polls when it came to power a decade ago in 2002. [8 & 9]
The case, known in Brazil as the “mensalao”, which means “big monthly allowance” in Portuguese, for the bribes congressmen allegedly received, has riveted Brazil for months since the case’s first details were revealed in the summer of 2005 when lawmaker Roberto Jefferson accused the Workers Party of having bribed legislators, has convinced most Brazilians that the Workers Party, once an island of relative trustworthiness, can be as crooked and delusional as its opponents, has spurred optimism that the country has taken a significant step toward fighting government corruption, and has resulted in the largest corruption trial in Brazil’s history. The Mensalao trials tarnished the reputation of the Workers Party, sparked a wave of outrage against corruption in the public sector, and given hope that the government is capable of holding politicians accountable. [7]
Likened in scope to the Watergate Scandal in the United States, the case has been dubbed the “trial of the century.” [11]
Dirceu, a former leftist urban guerrilla exiled in Cuba by Brazil’s long 1964-89 military dictatorship, has been out of public life for several years, forced to resign his post as chief of staff and banned from politics when the scandal exploded in 2005 and almost toppled Lula. [3] But Lula survived the ensuing scandal, and the scandal didn’t stop Lula from winning a second four-year term a year later in 2006. Brasilia University politics professor David Fleischer said: “He was surfing an international wave of good times.” The scandal tarnished the image of Lula, who left office with an astronomical 88 percent popularity rating and remains Brazil’s most popular head of state and arguably one of the South American nation’s most popular politicians, among the middle class, but he still has solid support among 30 percent of voters who would back him no matter what, and he would probably beat any candidate the opposition could field today in a presidential race, polls show. The scandal did not appear to hurt the Workers Party at the ballot box on October 7th: It won more municipalities than it got at the height of Lula’s success in 2008.
The convictions also mark a critical, if uncomfortable, step in the anti-corruption campaign of President Dilma Rousseff, who refrained from commenting on the scandal, and established a reputation for clean government while attempting to reinforce her image as a leader cracking down on corruption. At least six of her cabinet ministers resigned in her first year due to corruption allegations. There has been no fallout for Rousseff, who served as Lula’s chief of staff until the fast growth of 2010 helped sweep his handpicked anointed successor into office in the 2010 presidential contest, and built on Lula’s popularity by establishing her own style of governing, filling her cabinet with her own people, distancing her self from Lula’s faction within the Worker’s Party. [2]
The convictions sully the legacy of Da Silva, a key political figure who still has strong pull in Brazilian politics—a former factory worker and labor union leader who climbed to the presidency and introduced policies that helped to modernize Brazil and lift more than 35 million people out of poverty. Da Silva was not implicated in the case, has not been charged himself with any crime in the scandal, insists he knew nothing of the scheme, and maintains that the vote-buying scheme at the heart of the scandal did not exist. [10] [11]
Dirceu, who was convicted of racketeering and masterminding the bribery scheme during Lula’s first term in office, among other charges, including Brazil’s equivalent of unlawful conspiracy and outward corruption, the rough equivalent of bribery, faces possible prison sentences of as long as up to 12 years. [2] Dirceu, a former communist student leader who introduced policies to aid the poor, pleaded not guilty and denies wrongdoing, and claimed on October 10th that he’d been “prejudiced and lynched”, convicted of corruption without proof, by a Supreme Court acting under “heavy pressure from the press.” Officials in the PT, including Dirceu, have alleged that the Supreme Court is persecuting the party as part of a right-wing conspiracy against it. [11]
On October 24th, the Supreme Court determined that public relations executive Marcus Velario Fernandez de Souza, a consultant convicted of being the key money conduit in the cash distribution scheme, acted under Dirceu’s command, with Supreme Court justice Joaquin Barbosa, 58, the court’s only black justice, who is the justice overseeing the Mensalao trial, noting that “Marcos Velario agreed to take part in this criminal enterprise headed by Jose Dirceu to seize political power.” The court condemned Velario—who fought the charges and maintained his innocence—to more than forty years in prison and fined him more than $1.3 million. Valerio’s three former business partners, including Ramon Hollerbach, his attorney and one of his employees were also found guilty. Former Transport Minister Anderson Adauto, another Fernandez employee, was acquitted. [1] [4] Catholic University of Brasília penal and constitutional law professor Soraia Mendes said the Velario sentences were tough, signaling similar treatment for the other convicted participants. [10]
25 of the around 40 elected and appointed officials, ranging from bankers to secretaries to a host of other politicians, senior government officials, consultants and bankers working for and with the Workers Party, including 10 legislators, bank executives, and business intermediaries, on trial have so far been convicted on fraud, money-laundering, or conspiracy charges related to taking part in the diverting of public funds into political campaigns during the 2003-10 Da Silva presidency. [5]
The case, known in Brazil as the “mensalao”, which means “big monthly allowance” in Portuguese, for the bribes congressmen allegedly received, has riveted Brazil for months since the case’s first details were revealed in the summer of 2005 when lawmaker Roberto Jefferson accused the Workers Party of having bribed legislators, has convinced most Brazilians that the Workers Party, once an island of relative trustworthiness, can be as crooked and delusional as its opponents, has spurred optimism that the country has taken a significant step toward fighting government corruption, and has resulted in the largest corruption trial in Brazil’s history. The Mensalao trials tarnished the reputation of the Workers Party, sparked a wave of outrage against corruption in the public sector, and given hope that the government is capable of holding politicians accountable. [7]
Likened in scope to the Watergate Scandal in the United States, the case has been dubbed the “trial of the century.” [11]
Dirceu, a former leftist urban guerrilla exiled in Cuba by Brazil’s long 1964-89 military dictatorship, has been out of public life for several years, forced to resign his post as chief of staff and banned from politics when the scandal exploded in 2005 and almost toppled Lula. [3] But Lula survived the ensuing scandal, and the scandal didn’t stop Lula from winning a second four-year term a year later in 2006. Brasilia University politics professor David Fleischer said: “He was surfing an international wave of good times.” The scandal tarnished the image of Lula, who left office with an astronomical 88 percent popularity rating and remains Brazil’s most popular head of state and arguably one of the South American nation’s most popular politicians, among the middle class, but he still has solid support among 30 percent of voters who would back him no matter what, and he would probably beat any candidate the opposition could field today in a presidential race, polls show. The scandal did not appear to hurt the Workers Party at the ballot box on October 7th: It won more municipalities than it got at the height of Lula’s success in 2008.
The convictions also mark a critical, if uncomfortable, step in the anti-corruption campaign of President Dilma Rousseff, who refrained from commenting on the scandal, and established a reputation for clean government while attempting to reinforce her image as a leader cracking down on corruption. At least six of her cabinet ministers resigned in her first year due to corruption allegations. There has been no fallout for Rousseff, who served as Lula’s chief of staff until the fast growth of 2010 helped sweep his handpicked anointed successor into office in the 2010 presidential contest, and built on Lula’s popularity by establishing her own style of governing, filling her cabinet with her own people, distancing her self from Lula’s faction within the Worker’s Party. [2]
The convictions sully the legacy of Da Silva, a key political figure who still has strong pull in Brazilian politics—a former factory worker and labor union leader who climbed to the presidency and introduced policies that helped to modernize Brazil and lift more than 35 million people out of poverty. Da Silva was not implicated in the case, has not been charged himself with any crime in the scandal, insists he knew nothing of the scheme, and maintains that the vote-buying scheme at the heart of the scandal did not exist. [10] [11]
Dirceu, who was convicted of racketeering and masterminding the bribery scheme during Lula’s first term in office, among other charges, including Brazil’s equivalent of unlawful conspiracy and outward corruption, the rough equivalent of bribery, faces possible prison sentences of as long as up to 12 years. [2] Dirceu, a former communist student leader who introduced policies to aid the poor, pleaded not guilty and denies wrongdoing, and claimed on October 10th that he’d been “prejudiced and lynched”, convicted of corruption without proof, by a Supreme Court acting under “heavy pressure from the press.” Officials in the PT, including Dirceu, have alleged that the Supreme Court is persecuting the party as part of a right-wing conspiracy against it. [11]
On October 24th, the Supreme Court determined that public relations executive Marcus Velario Fernandez de Souza, a consultant convicted of being the key money conduit in the cash distribution scheme, acted under Dirceu’s command, with Supreme Court justice Joaquin Barbosa, 58, the court’s only black justice, who is the justice overseeing the Mensalao trial, noting that “Marcos Velario agreed to take part in this criminal enterprise headed by Jose Dirceu to seize political power.” The court condemned Velario—who fought the charges and maintained his innocence—to more than forty years in prison and fined him more than $1.3 million. Valerio’s three former business partners, including Ramon Hollerbach, his attorney and one of his employees were also found guilty. Former Transport Minister Anderson Adauto, another Fernandez employee, was acquitted. [1] [4] Catholic University of Brasília penal and constitutional law professor Soraia Mendes said the Velario sentences were tough, signaling similar treatment for the other convicted participants. [10]
25 of the around 40 elected and appointed officials, ranging from bankers to secretaries to a host of other politicians, senior government officials, consultants and bankers working for and with the Workers Party, including 10 legislators, bank executives, and business intermediaries, on trial have so far been convicted on fraud, money-laundering, or conspiracy charges related to taking part in the diverting of public funds into political campaigns during the 2003-10 Da Silva presidency. [5]
The law professors of the Sao Paulo Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV), an elite Brazilian educational institution, set up an on-campus “situation room” to provide live commentary on the Mensalao case in the Supreme Court to the media. [8 & 9]
Although the guilty verdicts against Dirceu and other senior members of the Workers Party were widely expected, they were nonetheless shocking. The Dirceu verdict is arguably the most important rendered in the scandal—one of the country’s biggest tests yet as it moves closer to joining the club of developed nations. The conviction of Dirceu was a big step for Brazil, where courts have traditionally been timid in punishing corruption. The trial at the Supreme Court reawakened public interest in the high-profile case because Brazil’s highest court has never convicted a Brazilian politician for corruption. To many, in this country where public service has long been marred by corruption and impunity, the sentence was a powerful message signaling improving political health. The prospect of jail time for Brazilian politicians accused of corruption is new for a country where even voters have shown a high tolerance for graft. Brazilians are accustomed to graft, yet the idea that several of the nation’s best-known political figures could go to jail for corruption was until recently unthinkable. [3] [7]
Washington’s American University School of International Service Professor Matthew Taylor cautioned against investing the case with too much significance, saying that Brazil’s judiciary still has shortcomings and impunity in Brazilian politics will not disappear overnight. Taylor said that the judicial system is “lagging behind”, and that one of the problems impeding justice is the “glacial pace of the courts”: “If anything, the courts remain the chief bottleneck to accountability in Brazil. This trial is the exception that proves the rule, a baby step.” Taylor pointed to the special privileges afforded to politicians, including the right to be heard directly in Brazil’s highest court, and to a plethora of avenues for appeal available to the elite: “The fact that there are special privileges for politicians is anachronistic for a democracy as vibrant as Brazil.” [1] [4]
Getulio Vargas Foundation Professor of Constitutional Law, Oliver Stuenkel, disagrees, saying: “The trial is emblematic of a rupture with the long-standing culture in Brazil that those who hold power get preferential treatment under the law. The law is being taken more and more seriously.” [8 & 9]
FGV constitutional law professor Oscar Vilhena Vieira follows up by saying: “This case is a result of the strengthening of the rule of law in Brazil.” [7]
Mendes said: “Imagine, this is a positive surprise, that these things weren’t swept under the table, that they didn’t get away with it because of their high positions.” [10]
FGV law professor Thiago Bottino agrees: “This trial shows that Brazil’s institutions are functioning with vigor. The Justices could have easily washed their hands of this case and walked away; instead, they entered the fight for an ethical democracy.” Taylor called the sentencing ”a watershed for Brazil”, noting that this is the first major political corruption scandal where the Supreme Court found the defendants guilty, and saying that Brazil has made significant strides in promoting accountability in government and combating corruption at various levels: “This case is very important. It is promising to see the court take on the mensalao. Progress is being made, and the “mensalao" demonstrates that there is both public support for anti-corruption efforts and the institutional wherewithal to effectively combat corruption.” [11]
Stuenkel said that Mensalao is leading some people, especially the young, to dare to take an interest in politics again: “It’s amazing to see optimism without cynicism.” [8 & 9]
Although the guilty verdicts against Dirceu and other senior members of the Workers Party were widely expected, they were nonetheless shocking. The Dirceu verdict is arguably the most important rendered in the scandal—one of the country’s biggest tests yet as it moves closer to joining the club of developed nations. The conviction of Dirceu was a big step for Brazil, where courts have traditionally been timid in punishing corruption. The trial at the Supreme Court reawakened public interest in the high-profile case because Brazil’s highest court has never convicted a Brazilian politician for corruption. To many, in this country where public service has long been marred by corruption and impunity, the sentence was a powerful message signaling improving political health. The prospect of jail time for Brazilian politicians accused of corruption is new for a country where even voters have shown a high tolerance for graft. Brazilians are accustomed to graft, yet the idea that several of the nation’s best-known political figures could go to jail for corruption was until recently unthinkable. [3] [7]
Washington’s American University School of International Service Professor Matthew Taylor cautioned against investing the case with too much significance, saying that Brazil’s judiciary still has shortcomings and impunity in Brazilian politics will not disappear overnight. Taylor said that the judicial system is “lagging behind”, and that one of the problems impeding justice is the “glacial pace of the courts”: “If anything, the courts remain the chief bottleneck to accountability in Brazil. This trial is the exception that proves the rule, a baby step.” Taylor pointed to the special privileges afforded to politicians, including the right to be heard directly in Brazil’s highest court, and to a plethora of avenues for appeal available to the elite: “The fact that there are special privileges for politicians is anachronistic for a democracy as vibrant as Brazil.” [1] [4]
Getulio Vargas Foundation Professor of Constitutional Law, Oliver Stuenkel, disagrees, saying: “The trial is emblematic of a rupture with the long-standing culture in Brazil that those who hold power get preferential treatment under the law. The law is being taken more and more seriously.” [8 & 9]
FGV constitutional law professor Oscar Vilhena Vieira follows up by saying: “This case is a result of the strengthening of the rule of law in Brazil.” [7]
Mendes said: “Imagine, this is a positive surprise, that these things weren’t swept under the table, that they didn’t get away with it because of their high positions.” [10]
FGV law professor Thiago Bottino agrees: “This trial shows that Brazil’s institutions are functioning with vigor. The Justices could have easily washed their hands of this case and walked away; instead, they entered the fight for an ethical democracy.” Taylor called the sentencing ”a watershed for Brazil”, noting that this is the first major political corruption scandal where the Supreme Court found the defendants guilty, and saying that Brazil has made significant strides in promoting accountability in government and combating corruption at various levels: “This case is very important. It is promising to see the court take on the mensalao. Progress is being made, and the “mensalao" demonstrates that there is both public support for anti-corruption efforts and the institutional wherewithal to effectively combat corruption.” [11]
Stuenkel said that Mensalao is leading some people, especially the young, to dare to take an interest in politics again: “It’s amazing to see optimism without cynicism.” [8 & 9]
- Barbassa, Juliana. “Sentencing Begins In Brazil Corruption Trial.” The Associated Press. Friday, October 26, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/10/26/world/americas/ap-lt-brazil-corruption-trial.html?ref=world
- Boadle, Anthony. “Brazilian Corruption Trial Dims Lula’s Aura.” Reuters. October 9, 2012. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/09/brazil-lula-idUSL1E8L4FAV20121009
- Boadle, Anthony. “Brazil’s Supreme Court Convicts Lula Aides Of Corruption.” Reuters. Tuesday, October 9, 2012. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/10/us-brazil-lula-idUSBRE8981ID20121010
- “Brazil Begins Punishing Politicians, For First Time.” The Associated Press. October 26, 2012. http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/10/26/brazil-begins-punishing-politicians-for-first-time/
- “Brazil Begins Sentencing Corruption Convicts In Massive Trial.” The Wall Street Journal. October 24, 2012. http://blogs.wsj.com/corruption-currents/2012/10/24/brazil-begins-sentencing-corruption-convicts-in-massive-trial/
- “Brazilian Political Heavyweight Found Guilty of Corruption.” EFE. October 9, 2012 http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/10/09/brazilian-political-heavyweight-found-guilty-corruption/
- Downie, Andrew. “Brazil’s Largest Corruption Trial Yields Its Most Important Guilty Verdict.” Time. October 10, 2012. http://world.time.com/2012/10/10/brazils-largest-corruption-trial-yields-its-most-important-guilty-verdict/
- Leahy, Joe. “Brazil Gripped By Anti-Corruption Battle.” Financial Times. October 30, 2012. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1b686ccc-21b1-11e2-b5d2-00144feabdc0.html
- Leahy, Joe. “Brazilians Dare To Hope Crackdown On Corruption Is Real.” The Washington Post. October 30. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazilians-dare-to-hope-crackdown-on-corruption-is-real/2012/10/30/1d1673f0-22b2-11e2-8448-81b1ce7d6978_story.html
- Lewis, J. & Lyons, J. “Brazil Starts To Hand Out Corruption Sentences.” The Wall Street Journal. October 23, 2012. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204425904578075102238148748.html
- Romero, Simon. “Brazilian Corruption Case Raises Hopes For Judicial System.” The New York Times. October 9, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/world/americas/brazilian-corruption-case-raises-hopes-for-judicial-system.html?pagewanted=all
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