In a
rather grotesque prossess, the Chief Justice of the Appeals Court in
Brazil, before hearing any evidence, deems Judge Moro’s decision
impeccable. Evidence against the former Brazilian President Lula da
Silva, is almost entirely based on plea bargain testimony of a
convicted criminal who wanted his sentence reduced. Brazil's
political elite is going after Lula and the Workers Party to
eliminate them from running in the next Presidential election this
year, according to CEPR co-director Mark Weisbrot.
It
appears that this particular case with Lula da Silva is being
initiated partly from the Unites States and Weisbrot reveals the
connection of judge Sergio Moro with the US foreign policy
establishment and other US institutions who portray him as a heroic
figure who fights corruption.
Recall
also that WikiLeaks
described the Senate-imposed President of Brazil Michel Temer –
after
the constitutional
coup
against Dilma Rousseff in 2016 -
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 reelected to the presidency.
As
Weisbrot wrote
recently:
The
evidence against Mr. da Silva is far below the standards that would
be taken seriously in, for example, the United States’ judicial
system.
He is
accused of having accepted a bribe from a big construction company,
called OAS, which was prosecuted in Brazil’s “Carwash”
corruption scheme. That multibillion-dollar scandal involved
companies paying large bribes to officials of the state-owned oil
company, Petrobras, to obtain contracts at grossly inflated prices.
The
bribe alleged to have been received by Mr. da Silva is an apartment
owned by OAS. But there is no documentary evidence that either Mr. da
Silva or his wife ever received title to, rented or even stayed in
the apartment, nor that they tried to accept this gift.
The
evidence against Mr. da Silva is based on the testimony of one
convicted OAS executive, José Aldemário Pinheiro Filho, who had his
prison sentence reduced in exchange for turning state’s evidence.
According to reporting by the prominent Brazilian newspaper Folha de
São Paulo, Mr. Pinheiro was blocked from plea bargaining when he
originally told the same story as Mr. da Silva about the apartment.
He also spent about six months in pretrial detention. (This evidence
is discussed in the 238-page sentencing document.)
But this
scanty evidence was enough for Judge Moro. In something that
Americans might consider to be a kangaroo court proceeding, he
sentenced Mr. da Silva to nine and a half years in prison.
A
promotion
video of the Lava Jato operation indicates how
highly suspicious are the real intentions of Sergio Moro. He is
considered the one who started this operation supposedly to fight
corruption in Brazil. Yet, it seems like a covert operation to crush
the image and the reliability of the Leftist politicians who enjoy
high popularity.
The
video ends with Lula da Silva, sentenced to jail for allegedly taking
bribes. Not a single word about (as characterized by many) one of the
most corrupted presidents, Michel Temer! The neoliberal
pro-Washington Temer, not only currently stays in his position, but
it is known that he was put in power after a constitutional coup
against previous Leftist president and Lula's successor, Dilma
Rousseff!
Furthermore,
the video proceeds beyond its prosecutional 'territory' towards
indirect political positions. The narrative almost implies that
poverty in Brazil is linked with state corruption through government
officials in power. Well, poverty in Brazil and elsewhere is a
complex story, related mostly to specific policies applied by
neoliberal politicians like Temer in favor of the elites. But we
guess that this is not considered 'corruption' according to the
video.
It
is obvious that Washington's dirty hands are all over this story. The
US-backed coup will be continued in Brazil, mainly for two reasons:
first, it will permit the US corporatism to rebound in the country,
exploiting its resources, and second, it will prevent Brazil from
establishing an even stronger relation with the rest of the BRICS.
But the
Brazilians should know that this new neoliberal onslaught against
Brazil will postpone any hopes of millions to escape from poverty.
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