I’ve heard it said that Brazil is the country of the future, and always will be….
Well, we have reports that former President Lula da Silva, he of the Workers’ Party, having had his collar felt recently by police over corruption allegations, has found a way that might help him sidestep further investigations, by joining the government of his successor, Dilma, that ‘likeable’ former Marxist guerilla, who is herself facing calls to resign over corruption.
Joining the government would mean that only the Supreme Court could hear a criminal complaint against him, and the lower courts have no jurisdiction to hear a case against a Minister. Such is the respect for the rule of law in that country.
So at least in Brazil they are perfectly open, if the cops are after you, you are safe if join the government. Is it any wonder that the country is a mess? This is one way to defend a government against politically-motivated prosecutors, but it is also a way to shield criminals.
I suppose the tipping point comes when politicians join a government when facing indictment, rather than resign from it.
I find it all refreshingly honest, in-yer-face corruption with no pretence of probity.
What we should do here in the US with stimulus funds is to split up and deposit them in the personal bank accounts of the leaders of the Democratic Party. Do it on a sliding scale to cover everyone from The Big Zero to the precinct captain level. If we must have political corruption let’s have efficient political corruption.
Good post Mr Ed.
Brazil is having a nice (in the old sense of the word “nice”) collapse.
Both political and economic. And the leftist elite (the “defenders of the people”) are concentrating on protecting their own backsides.
Its Keynesian policies have destroyed the Brazil – as they will do the rest of the world. including Britain and the United States.
However, contrary to internet rumours about the Z virus, there is no plague of flesh eating Zombies in Brazil.
At least not yet.
I seem to recall India has a similar rule, and several members of parliament were under investigation for murder
‘the Brazil’
Indeed, it is ‘o Brasil’ in Portuguese, ‘o’ =’the’, like ‘the Argentine’, ‘the Peru’ (‘el Peru’ in Spanish), the Netherlands, the Ukraine, there’s definitely an article in this lot.
I’ve two minds on this. On the one hand, you have Lula. On the other, you have Harris County, TX, which indicted one state-wide official after another for political reasons.
Eric,
Indeed, some form of legal immunity for representatives is quite common, in Italy I believe, for European Parliament Members in some EU countries. In the UK, MPs have immunity from civil arrest whilst Parliament is in session e.g. under a civil injunction, since they arr part of the High Court of Parliament, but thry have no criminal immunity except for things said or written in Parliament.
I suppose the problem is not immunity or the lack of it as such but the culture behind the perception or reality of a need for it. Immunity may be a marker for a corrupt culture being openly acknowledged, and to me, swathes of the USA have corrupt cultures not yet formally acknowledged
Downhill all the way since 1889. As many currency ‘reforms’ as regime changes. Probably it is a model for the future, alas
Done today.
A similar law applies in Israel. A dodgy immigrant tried to delay extradition proceedings by standing for election to parliament. His party list had only one name on it, his, but he received enough votes for two seats. It was later alleged that he paid people to vote for him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shmuel_Flatto-Sharon
Meanwhile in Romania, the corrupt chickens are coming home to ‘roast’ (as it were).
Two Years In Prison For Politician Who Bribed Voters With 60 Tonnes Of Fried Chicken
With talk of both ‘Dilma’ facing impeachment and also her successor should she meet that end, this article hints that the natural outcome would be for Lula (the guy who joined the government to dodge the cops) to be the Workers’ Party candidate for 2018.
Now that’s chutzpah.