Posted on 07/30/2005 9:04:30 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
RIO DE JANEIRO, July 29 - As he campaigned for the presidency in 2002, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva boldly pledged to clean up the sordid politics of Brazil. His, he vowed, would be an ethical, honest and moral government the likes of which Brazil had never seen.
That pledge helped him win the votes of more than 50 million Brazilians and a sweeping mandate. But now, in a gloomy echo of what has happened time and again across Latin America, Mr. da Silva's government is mired in the biggest, most audacious corruption scandal in his country's history.
A congressional inquiry has heard testimony that the governing Workers' Party paid dozens of deputies from other parties a $12,500 monthly stipend for their support. This month, a party functionary was detained at an airport with $100,000 - stashed in his underwear - which he claimed to have earned selling vegetables.
Mr. da Silva's chief aide has been forced to resign, as have the president, secretary general and treasurer of the Workers' Party. While Mr. da Silva has not yet been accused in the scheme, speculation that he could face impeachment is widespread, and the first street demonstrations against him, small but indignant, started this week.
Brazil's scandal is just the latest reminder of the unremitting corruption that has marked Latin American politics since colonial times, when absolute rulers regarded newly conquered realms in the New World as their personal property. The important difference today is that popularly elected governments now hold sway, and corruption has emerged as one of the gravest threats to the hard-won democratic gains of the last 20 years.
Across the region, these second-generation democrats have proved a disappointment, and their ineffectiveness and low standing have allowed political instability and economic disparity to grow. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Interesting that this is finally getting some US press.
I'm actually interested in setting up a Brazil ping list, anyone interested should message me.
Why is it more threatening now than in the last few hundred years? People know about it, accept it, expect it, pay it, profit by it. Maybe it is just more open in Latin America. Here we use lobbyists to pass money to our elected officials so it becomes more sanitary. Doesn't it?
Our system might not be perfect but it's the best there is.
This is one of the main reasons to close the borders.These third world types have fouled their nests and now want to come here and foul ours.If the liberal idiots think they can reach some "understanding" with these scum they are saddly mistaken.
Well, at the same time this scandal broke, the number one new soap opera in Brazil was 'America'. A story about illegal immigrants in the US.
blame BUSH! /sarc/
"Our system might not be perfect but it's the best there is."
You've got that right. I'm trying to start an import business in the Philippines... it's amazing how roughly 1/2 of my shipments reach their destination...the other half seem to vanish into thin air. It's an uphill climb for sure. I ship either FEDEX and / or US mail parcel service... once it hits the ground there... my stuff gets parcelled out to God know who.....
According to supporters of CAFTA, CAFTA will fix all this.
blame BUSH!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wrong: it's Karl Rove's fault.
That's just awful. It sounds like the U.N. So much of their supplies and equipment just goes **poof.**
It's hard to feel bad for the U.N.
But I wish you the best.
Well, it sounds like a lot of people are getting jail time.
There is some truth in that I believe.
I imagine he'll have a tough time proving that.
My Spanish class took a field trip to Mexico
a few years ago. At the border crossing on the
Mexican side the teacher pointed out how the
drawer to El Jefe's desk always remained open.
"You slip a few bucks in the drawer but don't
say anything." We got waved through the crossing
no problem. It's the way they operate.
It's all happening without CAFTA. At least if you can believe that they might actually punish their own.
Perhaps they couldn't pay enough bribes to stay out of prison.
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