Brazil’s Temer Received $300,000 Bribe: Whistleblower

Source:  TeleSur
June 25 2016

Brazil’s interim President Michel Temer Brasilia, Brazil, June 1, 2016. | Photo: Reuters

The latest allegations follow the possible implication of 175 deputies and senators, a staggering 30 percent, of Brazil’s entire National Congress.

Brazil’s acting President Michel Temer allegedly received a bribe of US$296,000 that Engevix company owner Jose Antunes Sobrinho paid through intermediaries, Brazilian magazine Epoca reported Saturday.

RELATED:  New Brazil Corruption Scandal Could Implicate 30% of Lawmakers

Plea bargain

The report cited allegations by the executive in efforts to secure a plea bargain with federal authorities.

In his proposed plea bargain, Antunes alleges that Joao Batista Lima, owner of the Sao Paulo-based architecture firm Argeplan and a close friend of Temer, had received work contracts in exchange for granting bribes to the current Brazilian head-of-state.

Lima, a former military police colonel, has being the “key person involved in the dirty work” between companies and PMDB politicians.

Construction contract

If his plea bargain request is granted, Antunes says that he can prove Temer received a bribe of US$296,000 in exchange for a construction contract that was awarded to Argeplan to build the Angra III nuclear-generation unit, which forms part of Brazil’s sole nuclear power plant.

Police detained José Antunes Sobrinho, a partner of construction company Engevix, for allegedly bribing officials of Eletronuclear, the nuclear-generation unit of Eletrobras, to win contracts.

The latest allegations follow the possible implication of 175 deputies and senators, a staggering 30 percent, of Brazil’s entire National Congress.

WATCH: Brazil Prosecutor Requests Arrest of Pro-Impeachment Leaders

Brazil Leak Shows Senate Chief Wants to Halt Corruption Probe

Source:  TeleSUR
May 25 2016

 The latest wiretap adds to proof that suspended President Dilma Rousseff’s political rivals wanted to oust her to stop corruption investigations against them.

Protesters demonstrate in support of suspended President Dilma Rousseff and against
the interim government of Michel Temer, Sao Paulo, May 22, 2016. | Photo: Reuters

A second major leak hit the political scene in Brazil on Wednesday, revealing that the head of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, planned to negotiate with the Supreme Court about removing suspended President Dilma Rousseff from office while also scheming to change laws governing investigations into corruption.

RELATED: Political Scandal Rocks Brazil’s Temer Coup Gov’t

A way to halt the anti-corruption campaign

In the leaked recording reported by the Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo, Calheiros is heard telling Sergio Machado that all politicians are “afraid” of the corruption investigation known as Operation Car Wash, a series of probes revolving around fraud and bribery in the state oil company Petrobras.

Calheiros is caught on tape saying he wants to change the plea bargain rules, a cornerstone of the investigations, as a way to halt the anti-corruption campaign.

The Senate president, a member of unelected interim President Michel Temer’s PMDB party, and Machado, former president of the state oil company Transpetro, a subsidiary of Petrobas, are both targets of Operation Car Wash.

 RELATED: Brazil Senate Sets Next Steps for Dilma Trial to Complete Coup

Scheming  to ensure Rousseff’s ouster

The leak comes after another explosive wiretap earlier this week revealed that interim Planning Minister and then-Senator Romero Juca was scheming with members of the Supreme Court and military command to ensure Rousseff’s ouster.

In the conversation, also with Machado, Juca makes clear that the goal of removing the president from office is to put a stop to the Operation Car Wash investigations, of which he was also a target. Juca has stepped aside from his cabinet post over the leak.

The Calheiros recording also reveals that the Senate chief planned to “negotiate” with the Supreme Court over guaranteeing Rousseff’s “transition.”

The real motivations behind removing Rousseff

The leaks provide the strongest evidence to date that the real motivations behind removing Rousseff from office center around protecting the corrupt political establishment from facing investigations and prosecution—quite the opposite of how the impeachment process has been portrayed as a bid to root out government fraud. Evidence of alleged negotiations with state institutions also make the whole process appear even more like a coup.

What’s more, the implication of the Supreme Court in negotiations with corrupt lawmakers about removing the president and stalling investigations casts a serious shadow on the legitimacy of the institution, which will play a key role in overseeing Rousseff’s impeachment trial.

In response to the leak, Calheiros’ spokesperson told Folha that the recording does not provide evidence that the Senate president intended to interfere with anti-corruption investigations.

RELATED:  Brazil Leak: Corrupt Leaders Seek Protection with Coup

And Supreme Court communications told Folha that Chief Justice Ricardo Lewandowski, who will coordinate Rousseff’s impeachment trial process in the Senate, “never held talks about alleged ‘transition’ or ‘changes in criminal law’ with the people cited,” referring to Calheiros and Machado and their claims in the recording.

According to Folha, Machado’s whereabouts has been unknown since last week.

The new leak comes as interim President Michel Temer has announced plans to ramp up austerity and the privatization of public assets and approved a new fiscal target to lower public expenditures.

It also comes as a Senate committee is set to decide on Wednesday the schedule for the suspended president’s impeachment trial.

Rousseff was suspended from office for 180 days on May 12 through a Senate vote to make her stand trial over allegations of budget manipulations. Interim President Michel Temer will be installed in Brazil’s highest office until 2018 if the impeachment is ultimately approved.

Dilma: External interference is not a primary or a secondary reason for what’s happening now in Brazil

Source:  RT.com
May 19 2016

President Dilma Rousseff explains what is happening in Brazil now in an interview with RT

 

Women protest against Brazil’s interim President Michel Temer and in support of suspended President Dilma Rousseff in Sao Paulo, May 17, 2016. | Photo: Reuters

“I don’t believe external interference is a primary or a secondary reason for what’s happening now in Brazil.  It’s not.  The grave situation we see now has developed without any such interference.  This coup is not like usual coups is Latin America which normally involve weapons, tanks and street 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, so we don’t know what kind of repercussions this will lead to considering that an impeachment without repercussions would only be possible in the case of a committed crime.  If there is no crime then an impeachment is illegal.”  Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil

Brazil: Back in the Clutches of Washington

Source:  TeleSUR

Following the Senate coup against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and installation of right-wing vice president Michel Temer, the coup plotters’ agenda has become clear.

The Temer administration is now in the midst of an all-out attack on the country’s most progressive social and political achievements, with an all-white, all-male cabinet that is absolutely hostile to the social movements and minority groups of Brazil.

Rousseff’s 2014 re-election marked the fourth consecutive victory for the Workers Party, a fact that did not sit well with the country’s right-wing politicians, who immediately started to conspire against the president. That is why her supporters see the impeachment as an effort to retroactively win the election through non-democratic means.

If You Only Watch One Thing…

 

If You Only Read One Thing…

In Just One Day, Brazil’s Post-Coup President Sent the Country Back Decades

Michel Temer has waged an all-out attack on the country’s most progressive social and political achievements. READ MORE

Imperial Designs in Latin America

Current US Ambassador to Brazil Served in Paraguay Prior to 2012 Coup

The possible role of the United States government in the ouster of the democratically elected President Dilma Rousseff is being scrutinized after it emerged that present U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Liliana Ayalde previously served as ambassador to Paraguay in the lead up to the 2012 coup against President Fernando Lugo. READ MORE

Temer Orders Military to Surround Residence of Dilma Rousseff

Source:  TeleSUR
May 19 2016

 

Brazil’s Senate vice president has denounced a siege against suspended President Dilma Rousseff ordered by the interim right-wing president.

Senate-imposed Interim President Michel Temer has deployed military troops to cordon off the area surrounding the Palácio da Alvorada, residence of the suspended President Dilma Rousseff,  Brazilian Senate Vice President Jorge Vianna said on Thursday.

RELATED:  Brazil’s Coup Government Is at War with Marginalized Groups

Vianna said there’s a checkpoint at the Palácio do Jaburu, where Temer currently resides, and which is very close to Rousseff’ residence in the capital of Brasilia.

“Anyone visiting President Dilma has to go through a checkpoint installed at Jaburu, with several heavily armed military (personnel)… I just made a visit to President Dilma. I was with the president of the National Congress. And we had to identify ourselves and wait a long time before getting the access,” Vianna said.

What country is this?

“This means that the elected president is under siege? What country is this? What provisional government is this?” the senator added.

Temer assumed the post of interim president last week following the suspension of President Dilma Rousseff, who is now facing a Senate impeachment trial.

Rousseff, along with millions of others across the country, regards the move as a coup waged by the right-wing opposition.

Despite formerly chairing the oil giant Petrobras — from which several former and current officials are linked to the corruption scandal dubbed “car wash” —  Rousseff has not been formally tied to the scandal and there are no formal charges against the socialist leader.

WikiLeaks Reveal Brazil’s New Coup President Is ‘US Informant’

Source:  TeleSUR
May 13 2016

Senate-imposed President of Brazil Michel Temer met with U.S. Embassy staff on at least two occasions to brief them on the country’s politics.

Brazil’s Senate-imposed President Michel Temer gestures during a ceremony at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, May 12, 2016. | Photo: Reuters

Whistleblower website WikiLeaks described the Senate-imposed President of Brazil Michel Temer as a “U.S. Embassy informant” in a tweet and provided two links where Temer’s candid thoughts on Brazilian politics serve as the basis for a report by the U.S. embassy in Brazil.

The cable from Jan. 11, 2006, states that Temer met with embassy officials on Jan. 9, 2006 to give his assessment of Brazil’s political landscape ahead of the 2006 general election that saw Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva re-elected to the presidency.

RELATED:  UNASUR Head Says Rousseff Remains ‘Legitimate Leader’ of Brazil

Temer became interim president after the Brazilian Senate voted to proceed with an impeachment trial against President Dilma Rousseff, forcing her to step down for a period of 180 days.

Temer has been criticized for making clear his intention of pursuing a pro-business, neoliberal program as president, despite the fact that Rousseff and her Workers’ Party were re-elected on the basis of a progressive program of social investment and wealth redistribution.

The leaked cable indicates that Temer has always held a neoliberal outlook.

“Temer criticized Lula’s narrow vision and his excessive focus on social safety net programs that don’t promote growth or economic development,” reads the cable from Jan 11, 2006.

Temer’s second meeting with US embassy staff

The cable also reveals that in 2006 Temer’s party, the PMDB, was considering an alliance with both the leftist Workers’ Party and the right-wing PSDB.

The PMDB’s tendency to switch sides would later prove to be a critical element in efforts by Brazilian elites to oust Rousseff.

Despite having been elected vice president alongside Rousseff, Temer betrayed his former allies and joined in efforts to oust the president via impeachment.

A June 21, 2006 cable shows Temer held a second meeting with U.S. embassy staff to once again appraise them on the political situation in Brazil.

RELATED:  Coup Gov’t in Brazil to Implement Neoliberalism via Repression?

Temer laments the lack of power given to PMDB ministers

In that cable Temer laments the lack of power given to PMDB ministers during the Lula government.

“Temer spoke caustically of the Lula administration’s miserly rewards for its allies in the PMDB,” reads the cable.

Temer’s bitterness over being left out of Rousseff’s governance decisions was said to be one of the factors that motivated his eventual support for her impeachment.