Americas
Brazil Bribery Inquiry Targets Top Politicians
Brazil Bribery Inquiry Targets Top Politicians
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s
highest court on Friday authorized an investigation of dozens of
prominent political figures, including the leaders of both houses of
Congress, intensifying a sweeping bribery scandal that is bedeviling
President Dilma Rousseff’s government at a time when she is grappling
with a sluggish economy.
The
move by the Supreme Federal Tribunal singles out several important
figures, including Renan Calheiros, the Senate leader; Eduardo Cunha,
the leader of the Chamber of Deputies; Fernando Collor de Mello, a
former president; and dozens of others. Many form part of the governing
coalition led by Ms. Rousseff, who was re-elected in October.
The
scandal has shaken the political establishment over the past year, as a
former executive at Petrobras, the national oil company, revealed a
scheme in which construction companies paid huge bribes to obtain
contracts for refineries, deep-sea platforms and oil tankers.
Witnesses
who have reached plea deals with prosecutors have testified about how
funds were channeled to powerful politicians or to the governing Workers
Party and other political parties. Rodrigo Janot, the prosecutor
general, has asked the high court not to investigate Ms. Rousseff, who
was chairwoman of Petrobras’s board while the bribery scheme was
thriving.
The
process is not expected to be swift if the inquiries produce trials at
the high court. Members of Congress have special judicial standing that
allows them to be tried only by the Supreme Federal Tribunal,
effectively producing long delays in such trials. Some of the
politicians who will be investigated have already denied any wrongdoing.
“I will give all the explanations in the light of day,” Mr. Calheiros, the Senate leader, said Friday.
Mr. Calheiros, like others entangled in the investigation, is no stranger
to scandal. He resigned as Senate leader in 2007 when a magazine
reported that a construction company’s lobbyist had paid child support
for Mr. Calheiros’s daughter from an extramarital affair. He regained
his post as Senate president in 2013.
Still,
this latest phase in the scandal comes at a delicate time for Brazil’s
economy. With Petrobras in upheaval, some investors are cutting their
exposure in Brazil, and Brazil’s currency, the real, dipped 7 percent
against the dollar over the past week.
The
turmoil in Congress is also raising concern that legislators may seek
to block austerity measures as tensions simmer between Ms. Rousseff and
members of her coalition.
copy http://www.nytimes.com/
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário