MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Brazilian leader recommends President Rousseff to “purge” her cabinet
Cardoso tells Rousseff to get rid of all ministers inherited from Lula da Silva Former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso recommended President Dilma Rousseff a purge of her cabinet which faces yet another alleged corruption case: the minister of Labour, the fifth since she took office last January.
“I expect President Dilma further advances in her struggle against corruption but for that she needs to alter the different (12) parties’ support for the ruling coalition”, said Cardoso head of the Brazilian Social democrats, the main opposition party.
“Can she do it? That’s the big question” pointed out the former president who has called on Ms Rousseff to “go to the bone” in her “ethical cleansing campaign” and dump all those inherited from the administration of Lula da Silva, who was Brazilian president from 2003 to 2010.
President Rousseff has already got rid of six ministers between June and October most of them recommended by Lula da Silva and several were also ministers of his cabinet.
All suspicions are now set the Labour minister Carlos Lupi who had been in the job since Lula da Silva’s time, and is accused of collecting bribes, funds which he used to prop his Democratic Workers party.
The head of the opposition Social democrats in the Senate and the Lower House have demanded Lupi resigns to his post who has been summoned to Congress to explain alleged lies he told members of the House a week ago when questioned.
Cardoso condemned what he described as the ‘prevailing attitude’ in government which considers ‘natural’ the existence of corruption, and therefore can’t be corrected.
Lupi is scheduled to be questioned in the Senate regarding his statements to the House while President Rousseff is considering whether to sack him or not.
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules-
Read all commentsIt is a pity that FHC is too old to stand again for President.
Nov 18th, 2011 - 07:22 pm 0He is right to choose this time to press Dilma on the matter of institutionalised corruption; as the elder statesman, he can do this.
His key statement is that she needs to address the gravy-train pulling 12 carriages - ”she needs to alter the different (12) parties’ support for the ruling coalition.”
Most major parties in Brasil have signed up to be part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
With virtually every political party signed up to the idea that 'if we all do it we can do it for ever,' FHC is absoluterly right that the very structure of Brasilian corrupt politics and the Brasilian corrupt administrative edifice has to be pulled down and reconfigured.
I wholeheartedly support Dilma's undeclared campaign, but it is not addressing the CORE problem.
FHC has 'said that which cannot be spoken'
and has publically challenged Dilma (in the nicest possible way) to address the CORE problem.
On her own she cannot do it; in harness with FHC (as opposed to the official Opposition) it progressively becomes an option as individuals and then parties, one by one, declare the break with the past.
It will be interesting to see which parties press first for a 'General Corruption Amnesty'.
Oh, I hope FHC has the years left to write the definitive history of these mad, mad and o-so-bad years.
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