RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s political crisis deepened as a judge blocked the appointment of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as chief of staff to his successor just moments after his tumultuous swearing-in ceremony held amid heated protests.
Current President Dilma Rousseff’s opponents accused her of a transparent manoeuvre aimed at helping the once popular Silva avoid legal woes that saw him taken in for questioning in a sprawling corruption probe less than two weeks ago. Cabinet members cannot be investigated, charged or imprisoned unless authorized by the Supreme Court.
Rousseff has insisted the Cabinet appointment has nothing to do with the former president’s legal problems, saying Silva would help put the country back on track economically and spearhead the fight against attempts to oust her over allegations of fiscal mismanagement. The impeachment process moved a step closer Thursday as the lower house established a special commission on the matter.
As the spectacle continued to play out, the simmering anger that bought an estimated 3 million people onto the streets in nationwide anti-government demonstrations over the weekend again spilled over, with protests flaring in Brasilia and Sao Paulo, where demonstrators brandished inflatable dolls of Silva in black-and-white prison stripes. A pro-Silva rally was slated for Friday, but it was not clear whether the former leader would attend. (more...)
A global network:
I knew some well-connected (masonic) Brazilian/German Nazis living in the Greater Toronto Area. It would be safe to say this kind of corruption is also rife in Canada and extends to elite circles.
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