After Dilma, Will Brazil Keep Up Its Massive Corruption Case?
After Dilma, Will Brazil Keep Up Its Massive Corruption Case?
There’s a good chance for Lava Jato to lose momentum, says AS/COA’s Brian Winter while pointing out how it has changed the risk-benefit analysis for politicians and business leaders alike.
Person 1: Brazil’s a mess, isn’t it.
Person 2: Yeah, what a mess!
Person 1: And how about this impeachment thing?
Person 2: Oh, I [loathed/loved] Dilma. I’m [happy/sad] that she’s gone.
Person 1: But the “Car Wash” investigation … that’s really important.
Person 2: Oh yeah. Whatever happens, we can’t shut that down. That would be a disaster for the country.
Person 1: You got that right!
Brazilians are divided over the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.
But if there's one thing the vast majority agrees on, according to polls, it's this: The two-year corruption case known as Operacao Lava Jato, or Operation Car Wash — the alleged multibillion-dollar bribery scheme ensnaring politicians and Brazil's major oil and construction companies — cannot be neutered or slowed down by the change in government.
There is a real threat that it could.
The new president, Michel Temer, himself is accused of requesting campaign funds linked to the illicit corporate kickbacks. Temer denies it.
A couple weeks after Temer took over from Rousseff in May, his new anti-corruption minister resigned along with another cabinet member after leaked private recordings suggested they wanted to oust Rousseff and derail the Car Wash investigations. Soon a third minister quit over allegations he was linked to the oil company scandal.
“There’s a good chance that Lava Jato starts to lose momentum,” said Brian Winter, vice president of policy at the Americas Society and Council of the Americas.
It’s hard to overstate how important Operation Car Wash has become, not just for the future of Brazilian politics, but for the Brazilian psyche....
