Recent Developments
Very busy week so far in Brasilia. Here are the most recent developments for those not following the Brazilian newspapers:
1. Three months after his first hearing at the Camara ethics committee in wich he jump started the current crisis, Roberto Jefferson, federal deputy from Rio de Janeiro, lost his mandate yesterday. The roll call was secret, with 313 _yea_ votes (in favor of stripping his mandate) and 156 against. An absolute majority (257) deputies were needed. Jefferson promised to become a singer if that happened, so I guess the suffering isn’t over.
2. Paulo Maluf and his son, Flavio, were put under arrest due to corruption charges and attempt to intimidate a witness. Maluf comes from the largest and richest state in Brazil, Sao Paulo. He was mayor and twice a presidential candidate. Prosecutors believe he skimmed hundreds of millon dollars from public contracts during his term as mayor of Brazilian biggest city.
3. In a scandal involving much smaller sums of money, the president of the Camara, Severino Cavalcanti, is being accused of extortion by the owner of one of the _restaurants_ in the Camara’s building (Sebastiao Buani). The owner claims Cavalcanti requested a monthly “stipend” to extend the concession of the restaurant for a couple of years while he was 1st Secretary of the Camara back in 2002. Severino claimed he signed no such contract, but yesterday a personal check was uncovered, endorsed by Severino’s secretary. The secretary in question, after spending several hours with Severino yesterday, claimed the money was a (undeclared) donation to Severino’s son political campaign. The secretary, however, stated to the police just a couple of days ago that she never received any money from Buani. Most parties expect Severino to renounce or risk losing his mandate.
If you read portuguese and want to follow closely the crisis in real time, check the “Blog do Noblat”. Noblat, a well known and respected journalist who was previously editor in charge of the main newspaper in Brasilia, decided to go online and is making waves with his coverage of the scandal.