Luis Henrique Vieira – Latin America News Dispatch, 12/19/2011
It’s no news to the international community that Brazil struggles with corruption. Early this month, Brazilian President Dilma Roussef fired her sixth minister over corruption charges. There are two more accused ministers on the line who may be fired after the new year.
The worst punishment top politicians can receive in Brazil is to be fired from an important post. They are often prosecuted, but Brazilian justice is so slow that the statute of limitations for most of the cases expires. A few politicians are taking anti-corruption stances, but participation in demonstrations is not yet significant. “We need an ‘Operation Clean Hands’ in Brazil as soon as possible,” Senator Pedro Simon of the state of Rio Grande do Sul has said.
In a movement led by the Brazilian Association of Lawyers to promote political demonstrations against corruption in Brazil’s major capitals, Simon and Senator Jarbas Vasconcelos from the state of Pernambuco have failed to ignite public anger against corrupt politicians. Most of the demonstrations have not gathered more than a few hundred people.
Brazil Portal 