Influence peddling and other forms of political corruption are not of course restricted to Brazil or just to the developing countries. It is just a lot more sophisticated in the US and japan and Europe. But more mud is being flung and a great deal of it is now sticking to former President Lula’s period of office in Brazil.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, moving quickly to nip a new scandal in the bud, ordered the dismissal on Saturday of government officials allegedly involved in a bribery ring, including the country’s deputy attorney general.
Federal police raided government offices in Brasilia and Sao Paulo on Friday and arrested six people for running an influence peddling ring that sold government approvals to businessmen in return for bribes.
Among those under investigation are the former personal secretary of ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Rosemary de Noronha, who has headed the regional office of the presidency in Sao Paulo since 2005.
The bribery scandal erupted on the heels of Brazil’s biggest political corruption trial that sentenced some of Lula’s closest aides to prison terms for buying support in Congress for his minority Workers’ Party government after taking office in 2003.
Rousseff, Lula’s chosen successor, was not affected by the vote-buying scandal and she has built on his popularity by gaining a reputation for not tolerating corruption. But the ruling Workers’ Party was rocked by the scandal which tarnished Lula’s legacy even though he was not implicated.
The new corruption case could further hurt the standing of Lula, who remains Brazil’s most influential politician.
But influence peddling is an irresistible temptation for politicians in most countries. As I have written elsewhere about my experiences with politicians:
Parliamentarians across the world offer their services to raise questions in parliament or in parliamentary committees. Heads of Government can be heavily involved and Jacques Chirac and Helmuth Kohl are only examples. UK Parliamentarians pad their expenses regularly and Ministers sell their services and their parliamentary questions. There is a venal attitude exhibited unashamedly by many Members of the European Parliament.
and regarding India,
…. Ministers in India have their performance ranked according to how much they raise for the party coffers. ….. “Within the party,” he would explain “it is not what I may achieve for the country or in parliament that matters; it is only what funds I can bring to the party that count. The skill in politics lies in achieving other things while meeting the funding expectations of the party”.
Tags: Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President Lula, President of Brazil
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