MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Brazilian Labour minister embattled in corruption claims says he won’t resign
Brazil's labour minister vowed on Tuesday not to become the sixth minister to quit over corruption allegations this year, saying he has the support of President Dilma Rousseff and his own party. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules'Plausible deniability'
Nov 09th, 2011 - 02:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“I was just the fall-guy”
So many reasons why the Minister did not know what was going on in his ministry.
He probably thought that it was a 'clean' ministry, and that there was no kick-backs or passage of money from the Ministry of Labor budget into the ONGs (NGOs) specifically set up to facilitate the transfer money via a paper-trail into party funds - in this case the Labour Party (PDT).
He might be 'wide-eyed and innocent' - after all, Lula claimed he knew nothing about the continuous corrupt transfers across ALL his ministries of state!
Lupi claims he is the fall guy -
what he is really saying is 'We are all doing it, why should I be the unlucky one to get punished?'
I think, soon he will resign (under pressure of the president) and life goes on. if he's guilty, he goes to jail, if he's not, he won't go to jail but he's out.
Nov 09th, 2011 - 10:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“He might be 'wide-eyed and innocent' - after all, Lula claimed he knew nothing about the continuous corrupt transfers across ALL his ministries of state!”
Politicians, there are no 100% honest politicians. doesn't exist on this planet.
I agree Fido, but there are different strata of dishonesty.
Nov 10th, 2011 - 11:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0Brasil, without the continuous application of its constitutional legal duty to maintain the checks and balanced necessary to ethically manage national budgets dispersed to ministries to deploy, is wide open to stratospheric levels of corruption.
I also agree that, in any country, lax controls will lead to abuse.
Brasil has suffered from leaders who prefer the *freedom* of lax controls and the corrupt society that it brings. This freedom from scrutiny and being held to account allows politicians to buy support easily*, thus maintaining their power-base and their power.
*There is no other reason than this to understand why the electoral process in Brasil is a frantic scramble to be a continuous part of every coalition government.
The gift of ministries and their ministerial budgets to individual political parties keeps them in line and maintains the gravy-train on the never-ending corrupt track.
It's only when somebody like Rousseff, who has not been part of the political class, and is (hopefully) not on the gravy-train, comes along that the equilibrium of corruption is disturbed and there is some chance of change.
If the nation WANTS uncorrupt government there are few opportunities and times that present themselves. This is one. The Ficha Limpa is its manifestation, and Rousseff needs all the support that the people can give her.
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