At least the US isn't Brazil round 9000+ :deadmanny:

[88m3]

AMERICAS

President Rousseff Is Bringing Back Lula as She Fights Impeachment and He Fights Arrest

By Donna Bowater

March 16, 2016 | 2:00 pm
Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has accepted an offer to become the chief of staff for his former protégé, the current president Dilma Rousseff.

The move is a high stakes political gamble designed to help Rousseff fight back against impeachment proceedings currently in congress that were boosted by massive anti-government protests last Sunday.

Becoming a member of the government will also provide Lula with short-term protection from possible prosecution over corruption allegations currently in Brazilian courts.

"It's an extremely risky move for both of them, in the sense of being a 'winner-takes-all' strategy," said Gabriel Petrus, a political analyst with Barral M Jorge consultancy firm based in the capital Brasilia.

The new appointment was first announced on Twitter by Workers' Party leaders after Lula, who was president from 2003 to 2011, met with Rousseff on Wednesday morning. The breakfast encounter followed a four-hour meeting on Tuesday night.

Lula's new job comes as momentum is gathering behind moves to impeach Rousseff over her alleged role in fiddling the government accounts to cover up excessive spending ahead of her reelection in 2014.

Police Question Brazil's Ex-President Lula for Four Hours in Petrobras Scandal Probe

The position of chief of staff appears designed to give the hero of the Workers' Party a strategic role in negotiating with Brazil's other political parties that now hold the president's future in their hands.

"Dilma is preparing herself for the impeachment battle and Lula would be the best soldier she could have now," said Petrus, the political analyst. "It's also a move to try to revamp her government after the protests. It is a high level response."

The formal impeachment process, that began in congress in December, had appeared to be stalling until politicians noted the size of anti-government protests that brought millions onto the streets around the country on Sunday. Rousseff is deeply unpopular because of Brazil's struggling economy that shrank by 4 percent last year.

Sources within the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, the ruling coalition's biggest partner, told Reuters this week that the protests prompted members to favor moving ahead with the impeachment process. Congress is expected to begin the election of a special commission to judge the case later this week.

How Big Oil Became the Perfect Fuel for Corruption

Rousseff had reportedly already sought to enlist Lula's help, but the former president had previously declined her offers of cabinet positions. His change of heart seems linked to corruption charges filed against him last week before a judge in São Paulo.

The final push appears to have come from the subsequent decision to pass the case on to the federal judge presiding over the historic Lava Jato, or Car Wash, investigation that uncovered a $2 billion bribery scandal centered on the state-owned oil company Petrobras.

As a member of the government, Lula can now only be tried by the country's Supreme Court.

The charges relate to allegations that Lula hid the acquisition of a penthouse, which was registered to engineering contractor OAS. OAS is one of the companies linked to the Lava Jato investigation.

The transcript of Lula's questioning by police before he was charged was published in full on Monday. In it, he tells police that the investigation against him will make him more determined to run for president again, as many had expected he might.

"I will be presidential candidate in 2018," he said. "They will have to have courage to make me ineligible."

A pro-government rally, in defense of Lula and Rousseff, is expected to take place on Friday.

"By giving Lula a cabinet position, Rousseff is protecting her own reputation and legacy, as much as she is Lula's. It will undoubtedly buy time for both of them," said Lloyd Belton, Latin American political and country risk analyst at S-RM, a business intelligence and risk management consultancy. "However, if Lula was arrested and charged for corruption, it's difficult to see how Rousseff's government could possibly survive given that he's the bedrock of the Workers' Party."

President Rousseff Is Bringing Back Lula as She Fights Impeachment and He Fights Arrest | VICE News


That corruption





@Malta what's the good word?

 

[FaTaL]

what exactly is going on?

 

[plushcarpet]

Brazil is what happens when government corruption and institutional racism have a baby

 

[88m3]

what exactly is going on?

Well from what I've gathered Lula got indicted(money laundering and god knows what else) and then Dilma( who they're trying to throw out of office) brought Lula back into the government to keep him from being prosecuted, apparently only their Supreme Court can prosecute people in the position that Lula went into.

 

[FaTaL]

Well from what I've gathered Lula got indicted(money laundering and god knows what else) and then Dilma( who they're trying to throw out of office) brought Lula back into the government to keep him from being prosecuted, apparently only their Supreme Court can prosecute people in the position that Lula went into.

View media item 7416

 

[Broke Wave]

Brazil is what happens when government corruption and institutional racism have a baby

That would be America breh

 

[Gentility]

She made Lula chief of staff?

Damn, that's some Frank Underwood type shyt.

 

[88m3]

Brazil’s Corruption Scandal Has It All
Two presidents, a trove of secretly recorded phone calls, immunity from prosecution, a billion-dollar bribery scandal, and protests.

Adriano Machado / Reuters

A federal judge in Brazil on Thursday blocked the appointment of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to a Cabinet-level position.

Lula, who is currently ensnared in a billion-dollar corruption scandal, had been sworn in hours earlier as President Dilma Rousseff’s chief of staff following thecontroversial announcement of his appointment earlier this week. Rousseff, who succeeded Lula as president, was his hand-picked successor.

On Wednesday night, a prosecutor released dozens of recorded phone calls including one that appeared to show Lula was seeking to use his Cabinet post to shield himself from prosecution—a revelation that prompted the federal judge to issue an injunction against the appointment.

According to news reports, in one taped conversation on Wednesday afternoon, Rousseff told Lula she would send him his ministerial credentials “in case of necessity,” widely interpreted to be a reference to Lula’s potential arrest or detainment. (Earlier this month, Lula, who is the most prominent of the dozens of politicians implicated in the scandal, was taken in for questioning by police.)

The government argues the conversation merely meant Lula might not be able to attend the swearing-in ceremony and officials have promised to appeal the injunction against Lula’s appointment. Indeed, in a previous conversation, also taped, Lula is heard telling Rousseff he “would never enter government to protect myself.”

Lula’s alleged participation in a kickbacks and money-laundering scheme involves Petrobras, the crown jewel of Brazil’s state-owned enterprises. The illegal actions are alleged to have taken place largely during Lula’s presidency from 2003 until 2010.

Brazil remains in the throes of a deep recession and anti-corruption sentiment has frequently materialized in the form of national protests. On Sunday, more than a million people around the country took to the streets in record demonstrations where calls were made for Lula to be arrested and for Rousseff to resign.

This scandal, which threatens Brazil’s government, ironically harkens back to a quote delivered by Lula himself nearly 30 years ago.

“In Brazil,” he said, “when a poor man steals he goes to jail. When a rich man steals he becomes a minister.”


Two Presidents, One Massive Corruption Scandal


guess that goose is cooked