I
can bet you this won't be highlighted in the world headlines.
Except
when it comes to their egregious russophobiaand geopolitics the
Guardian and RT are often on the same page
Rousseff impeachment efforts a bid to stop oil corruption probe – leaked tapes
RT,
23
May, 2016
Secret
phone recordings between Brazil's planning minister and the former
president of Transperto have revealed that the minister suggested a
“change” in the government to “stop the bleeding” caused by
an investigation into Petrobras.
The
March conversation between Planning Minister Romero Juca and former
Transperto President Sergio Machado took place just weeks before
impeachment proceedings were launched against Brazilian President
Dilma Rousseff, newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported.
The
dialogue centered around Operation Lava Jato, a probe into
allegations of corruption at the state-controlled oil company
Petrobras, of which Transperto is a subsidiary. Both Machado and Juca
are being investigated under the probe.
Machado
mentioned a renewed drive in the investigation against Petrobras,
saying that the operation was leaving “no stone unturned.”
In
response, Juca said a change of government was needed to “stop the
bleeding” caused by the probe.
“I
think we need to articulate a political action,” Juca said, adding
that a possible government with Michel Temer as president should
include a national pact.
Juca's
lawyer, Antonio Carlos de Almeida Castro, said his client would
"never think of doing any interference" in the
investigation, and that the conversation between Juca and Machado
contained no illegalities.
The
minister himself denied that he had discussed Rousseff's impeachment
with Machado.
"I
want to repeal the interpretation made by Folha de Sao Paulo ... I
was speaking of putting an end to the paralysis of Brazil, of ending
the 'bleeding' of unemployment, separate [politicians] who are guilty
and who are not," Juca said in response to allegations, as
quoted by the BBC.
The
conversation took place just weeks before Rousseff was suspended from
her post amid impeachment proceedings.
The
leader, who is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a
growing public deficit ahead of her 2014 re-election, was removed
from office after senators voted to suspend her by 55 votes to 22
earlier this month. Her trial may last up to 180 days.
Rousseff,
who denies the allegations against her, made an appeal to the Supreme
Court to stop proceedings, but the move was rejected.
She
told RT that the impeachment situation is a coup attempt by the old
Brazilian oligarchy.
"This
coup is not like usual coups in Latin America, which normally involve
weapons, tanks in the streets, arrests and torture. The current coup
is happening within the democratic framework, with the use of
existing institutions in support of indirect elections not stipulated
in the Constitution. This coup is carried out by hands tearing apart
the Brazilian Constitution,” Rousseff said.
"If
there is no crime, an impeachment is illegal. And since it’s
illegal, it’s a serious problem for the interim government. I’m
living proof of this unlawfulness and injustice,” she added.
Meanwhile,
Operation Lava Jato continues, with federal authorities investigating
corruption allegations at Petrobras, where it is alleged that
executives accepted bribes in return for awarding contracts to
construction firms at inflated prices. The operation, launched in
March 2014, has resulted in more than 100 warrants for search and
seizure, temporary and preventive detention, and coercive measures.
23 May, 2016
Secret
phone recordings between Brazil's planning minister and the former
president of Transperto have revealed that the minister suggested a
“change” in the government to “stop the bleeding” caused by
an investigation into Petrobras.
The
March conversation between Planning Minister Romero Juca and former
Transperto President Sergio Machado took place just weeks before
impeachment proceedings were launched against Brazilian President
Dilma Rousseff, newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported.
The
dialogue centered around Operation Lava Jato, a probe into
allegations of corruption at the state-controlled oil company
Petrobras, of which Transperto is a subsidiary. Both Machado and Juca
are being investigated under the probe.
Machado
mentioned a renewed drive in the investigation against Petrobras,
saying that the operation was leaving “no stone unturned.”
In
response, Juca said a change of government was needed to “stop the
bleeding” caused by the probe.
“I
think we need to articulate a political action,” Juca said, adding
that a possible government with Michel Temer as president should
include a national pact.
Juca's
lawyer, Antonio Carlos de Almeida Castro, said his client would
"never think of doing any interference" in the
investigation, and that the conversation between Juca and Machado
contained no illegalities.
The
minister himself denied that he had discussed Rousseff's impeachment
with Machado.
"I
want to repeal the interpretation made by Folha de Sao Paulo ... I
was speaking of putting an end to the paralysis of Brazil, of ending
the 'bleeding' of unemployment, separate [politicians] who are guilty
and who are not," Juca said in response to allegations, as
quoted by the BBC.
The
conversation took place just weeks before Rousseff was suspended from
her post amid impeachment proceedings.
The
leader, who is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a
growing public deficit ahead of her 2014 re-election, was removed
from office after senators voted to suspend her by 55 votes to 22
earlier this month. Her trial may last up to 180 days.
Rousseff,
who denies the allegations against her, made an appeal to the Supreme
Court to stop proceedings, but the move was rejected.
She
told RT that the impeachment situation is a coup attempt by the old
Brazilian oligarchy.
"This
coup is not like usual coups in Latin America, which normally involve
weapons, tanks in the streets, arrests and torture. The current coup
is happening within the democratic framework, with the use of
existing institutions in support of indirect elections not stipulated
in the Constitution. This coup is carried out by hands tearing apart
the Brazilian Constitution,” Rousseff said.
"If
there is no crime, an impeachment is illegal. And since it’s
illegal, it’s a serious problem for the interim government. I’m
living proof of this unlawfulness and injustice,” she added.
Meanwhile,
Operation Lava Jato continues, with federal authorities investigating
corruption allegations at Petrobras, where it is alleged that
executives accepted bribes in return for awarding contracts to
construction firms at inflated prices. The operation, launched in
March 2014, has resulted in more than 100 warrants for search and
seizure, temporary and preventive detention, and coercive measures.
Brazil minister ousted after secret tape reveals plot to topple President Rousseff
Planning
minister Romero Jucá was recorded saying ‘We have to change the
government’ as the only means to stop a sweeping corruption
investigation
23
May, 2016
The
credibility of Brazil’s interim government was rocked on Monday
when a senior minister was forced to step aside amid further
revelations about the machiavellian plot to impeach president Dilma
Rousseff.
Just
10 days after taking office, the planning minister, Romero Jucá,
announced that he would “go on leave” following the release of a
secretly taped telephone conversation in which he said Rousseff
needed to be removed to quash a vast corruption investigation that
implicated him and other members of the country’s political elite.
It
is unlikely to be the last blow for the interim president, Michel
Temer, whose centre-right cabinet includes seven ministers implicated
by the Lava Jato (Car Wash) investigation into kickbacks and money
laundering at the state-run oil company Petrobras.
Temer
took power earlier this month after
the senate initiated an impeachment trial of Rousseff, who is
suspended for up to six months pending the upper house’s verdict on
allegations that she manipulated government accounts before the last
election.
Supporters
of the Workers’ party leader say the charges are a pretext for a
“coup”. Temer’s allies counter that the impeachment was
constitutional and necessary to address political paralysis and the
worst recession in decades.
But the dubious motives and machiavellian nature of the plot to remove Rousseff are apparent in the transcript of a phone conversation between Jucá – a powerful ally of Temer’s in the Brazilian Democratic Movement party (PMDB) – and Sérgio Machado, a former senator who until recently was the president of another state oil company, Transpetro.
After
discussing how they are both targeted by Lava Jato prosecutors, Jucá
says the way out is political: “We have to stop this shit,” he
says of the investigation.
“We have to change the government to be able to stop this bleeding.”
“We have to change the government to be able to stop this bleeding.”
Machado
concurs: “The easiest solution would be to put in Michel [Temer].”
The
conversation took place just weeks before the
lower house voted to impeach Rousseff, according
to the Folha de São Paulo newspaper, which
published the transcript.
At
one point, Jucá appears to mock the Lava Jato investigators for
their high-mindedness and determination
to tackle all corrupt senators and congressmen.
“[They want to] put an end to this political class so [a new one]
can rise, to build a new breed [that will be] pure.”
He
then says the “penny has dropped” on this threat not just for
him, but for the leaders of the Social Democratic party, such as
former presidential candidate Aécio Neves, Senator Aloysio Neves,
José Serra and Tasso Jereissati – all of whom are now either in
the cabinet of the interim government or key supporters of the
coalition.
Later
in the conversation, Juca says he talked about his plans to supreme
court justices, who told him the “shit” (referring to the
corruption investigation and its media coverage) would never stop as
long as Rousseff remained in power. He also said he received
“guarantees” from military commanders that they could prevent
disturbances from radical
leftwing groups such as the Landless Workers Movement.
Jucá
– who took the influential post of planning minister in the interim
government – admitted on Monday that the conversation had taken
place, but he said his words were taken out of context. He argued
that he was referring to economic losses when he talked about “the
bleeding”. His lawyer, Almeida Castro, reiterated this: “At no
time was Jucá speaking against Lava Jato or seeking to interfere
with the operation.”
But
Machado, who was the source of the recording, is already reportedly
negotiating a plea bargain with prosecutors. According to reports in
local media, Jucá has said he will stay on leave until prosecutors
decide whether he has committed any crime.
During
the Lava Jato investigation, Jucá was named in a plea bargain by
former senator Delcídio Amaral as
a beneficiary in a 30m reais (£5.7m) kickback scheme from inflated
contracts for
the Belo
Monte hydroelectric dam in the Amazon.
He has denied the charges, which are being considered by the supreme
court.
The
Workers’ party has also been deeply implicated in this and other
wrongdoing, though Rousseff – who
has not been charged with any crimes –
allowed the Lava Jato investigation to continue while she was in
charge.
Temer
has insisted that he too would not interfere. But many fear his new
justice minister, Alexandre de Moraes, will reduce the scope of
federal police activities. Moraes has previously been a defence
lawyer for Eduardo Cunha, the suspended lower house speaker who is a
chief target of Lava Jato investigators.
In
an interview with the Guardian last month, Jucá denied that he,
Cunha, Temer and other members of the PMDB were planning to rein back
the Lava Jato investigation for the sake of stability.
“On
the contrary, I think it’s necessary to accelerate Lava Jato,” he
said. “You need to separate the wheat from the chaff, separate the
guilty from the innocent. Political stability will be created by the
innocent and by the credibility of politics for society. Today,
credibility is low and the level of representability of politicians
and parties is very low. We have to recover politics, which is an
instrument to diminish conflicts and set a direction for the
country.”
But
the interim administration he helped to create has shown little sign
of reducing tension or restoring credibility. The all-male, all-white
cabinet has been heavily criticised
as unrepresentative of the country, its
austerity policies are unpopular and
its leader has already backed down on removing the ministerial status
of the culture ministry in the face of protests by leading artists,
musicians and film-makers.
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