Latin American Zeitgeist consultant emeritus
"Eu sou o rei dessa folia, pra delírio da Fiel"
Seed Newsvine
Paraiba, Brazil: “The Governor Paid My Water Bill with a Mountain of Flying Money!”
Posted by Colin Brayton on July 31, 2007
Cunha Lima: Dad was governor, too (just as Collor’s dad was governor of Alagoas). The father is famous for having attempted to murder a political adversary in a crowded restaurant — and getting away with it. While in office. Boing. Pop’s Wikipedia autohagiography by proxy lists his profession as “poet.” He is currently serving as a Brazilian federal legislator for the “Coalition for a Decent Brazil.”
“During the second round of the elections for the state governor, a number of motorcycle couriers visited the public housing complexes on the outskirts of João Pessoa and Bayeux. They picked up electricity, water and telephone bills and brought them back paid, so long as residents voted for Cunha Lima, the incumbent governor who was running for reelection. … The PF found all the receipts for the accounts paid on behalf of Cunha Lima voters in a kind of “slush fund” central for the governor’s campaign, operating out of the Concorde Bldg in João Pessoa, in the offices of car rental impresario and moonshine manufacturer Olalo Cruz Lira.” –IstoÉ magazine, July 15
‘Não renuncio’, diz governador da Paraíba: “I will not resign, says Paraíba governor.”
See also Willy Stark in Paraíba: Toucan Canned.
I am interested in such cases because, as you recall, recent American history has given rise to the hypothesis that elections that get decided in the courts can turn out to be precursors to a plague of banana-republicanism.
Cunha Lima denies the check-writing campaign, but seems to be failing to mention another vote-buying scheme for which he is reportedly also borkable: A scheme to pay the bills of public housing residents if they voted for him.
The alleged operator of this scheme, armed with an illegal weapon, threw R$300,000 in cash out of a window of his car rental agency offices in order to avoid being caught with the evidence.
So reports IstoÉ, citing a confidential police report in an ongoing judicial inquiry.
O governador da Paraíba, Cássio Cunha Lima (PSDB), afirmou nesta terça-feira (31) que não renuncia a seu mandato mesmo correndo o risco de perder os direitos políticos. “Em absoluto não renuncio ao mandato que pertence a mais de um milhão de paraibanos”, afirmou o governador.
Paraiba governor Cássio Cunha Lima (PSDB) said today that he will not resign his office, even running the risk of losing his right to stand for election. “I will absolutely not resign my mandate, which also belongs to more than a million Paraibans,” he said.
Cunha Lima teve o mandato cassado pelo Tribunal Regional Eleitoral (TRE) da Paraíba na segunda (30).
Cunha Lima has his mandate canceled by the state elections tribunal on Monday.
Por cinco votos a um e após oito horas de julgamento, os juízes do tribunal determinaram a cassação, a perda dos direitos políticos até 2009 e uma multa de R$ 100 mil. Ainda cabe recurso ao Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE).
… The decision can still be appealed to the federal elections tribunal.
A decisão do TRE é de que o segundo colocado nas eleições de 2006, o senador José Maranhão (PMDB-PB), assuma o governo após a publicação da decisão.
The TRE’s decision is that the second-place finisher, Senator José Maranhão (PMDB), should assume the government after the decision is published to the Official Diary.
The PMDB-PSDB dynamic reminds me a lot of the PAN-PRI dynamic in Mexico, in certain respects.
De acordo com o TSE, porém, o governador tem 15 dias após a publicação para entrar com recurso ou renunciar sem correr o risco de perder os direitos políticos. Além disso, há possibilidade também de renúncia após a entrada do recurso sem que a decisão tenha efeito.
According to the TSE, however, the governor has fifteen days after the publication to file an appeal or to resign without running the risk of losing his political rights.
This is a peculiar Brazilian institution that we have seen a lot of recently: Rather than face charges, elected officials resign so that they can run again later. This brings an end to any self-regulatory proceedings in the Congress for lawmakers, for example, that might lead to sanctions.
Cunha Lima discursou por cerca de dez minutos e concedeu uma entrevista coletiva a jornalistas por outros vinte minutos. Depois, seguiu para o lançamento de um programa de microcrédito no estado.
Cunha Lima spoke for some 10 minutes and granted a 20-minute press conference to journalists. Later, he went on to a ceremony launching a microcredit program for the state.
O governador reconheceu que sofreu uma derrota, mas acredita que a decisão seja alterada no TSE. “É importante lembrar que a decisão tomada em primeira instância será ainda analisada pelo TSE. Perdemos o primeiro tempo, mas falta ainda o segundo tempo. Reafirmo minha confiança na Justiça Eleitoral”, disse.
The governor acknowledged that he had suffered a defeat, but believes that the decision will be overturned by the federal TSE. “We are trailing at halftime, but there’s still the second period. I reiterate my faith in the elections authorities,” he said.
Cunha Lima se disse ainda “inconformado com a decisão”, embora respeite o TRE. “Mantenho o respeito às decisões, mas manifesto inconformismo e por isso os advogados vão recorrer. Não estou lutando apenas para preservar meu mandato, mas pelo direito de mais de um milhão de paraibanos que, de forma legítima, me concederam um segundo mandato.”
Cunha Lima also said he “could not accept the decision,” though he respects the TRE. “I continue to respect its decisions, but I must express my disagreement, and so my lawyers will appeal. I am not fighting just to preserve my mandate, but also for the rights of more than a million Paraibans who legitimately conferred upon me a second term in office.”
O governador paraibano afirmou que as ações do governo serão mantidas. “Nossa preocupação é com o servidor público. A partir de amanhã começaremos o pagamento da folha de pessoal sem nenhum atropelo e vamos manter as obrigações com fornecedores. Vamos garantir a manutenção dos serviços”, disse Cunha Lima.
The governor said his government’s actions will be maintained. “Our concern is for the public servant. Starting tomorrow we will start paying salaries without delay and will maintain our commitments to suppliers. We are going to guarantee the continuity of government services,” he said.
The state government faced a 30-day teachers strike which local courts declared illegal. (A similar strike hit Alagoas after that funky election — not to mention the teacher strikes in Peru and Oaxaca, Mexico. )
O tucano evitou apontar culpados pela decisão. “Eu não posso fazer nenhum juízo de valor a cerca da decisão do TRE. Muitos estão surpresos com a tranqüilidade que estou, com a paz dos justos e a certeza da força da verdade.”
The Toucan (PSDB politician) avoided blaming anyone for the decision. “I cannot make any value judgment about the TRE’s ruling. Many are surprised at how calm I am, sleeping the sleep of the just and with faith in the power of truth.”
I remember when this mini-crisis broke out, a PSDB senator telling one of the political gossip columnists that he expected the governor would lose in the TRE and win in the TSE.
When the election-eve “mountain of money” scandal broke out, the presiding magistrate of the TSE — appointed by Collor, his first cousin — told TV cameras the scandal was “worse than Watergate” and merited the impeachment of the President.
He later clarified that he had not been officially apprised of any of the facts, other than what he had read in Veja magazine. Correct: he uttered the Mangabeira Unger excuse. See Mangabeira Unger Apologizes; Long-Term Deep Thinker Says He Rushed to Judgment.
He then chaired an interrogation of one of the suspects in the case, a close Lula aid.
The man, a certain Freud Godoy, was perp-walked and subjected to a massive media blitz in which copy desks vied to see who could produce the worst pun on “freud” and “fraud.”
He was later cleared of any involvement in anything — as were the “money mountaineers” themselves. Stupid, but not crooks.
That really made my jaw drop, the injudiciousness on display in that incident — as did a major procedural error in calling the first round of the elections prematurely — and led to my evolving theory of what I call the “ex parte party” in contemporary media-judiciary relations in Brazil.
Also known as the “Gonzalez phenomenon” or “the Federalist Society, globalized” gambit.
Esfera policial
The law-enforcement angle
Cunha Lima destacou que, durante investigações policiais feitas após acusação de compra de voto, a denúncia não foi comprovada pela Polícia Federal. “A investigação feita por compra de votos foi alvo de apreciação e não houve em apuração feita pela Polícia Federal qualquer apontamento nesse sentido. Vamos decidir isso na segunda instância e sigo reafirmando que não houve, de minha parte, nenhum ilícito.”
Cunha Lima stressed that during police investigations that followed accusations of vote-buying, the charge was not proven by the Federal Police. “The investigation into vote-buying was targeted and there was no indication of any such thing in the Federal Police investigation. We are going to resolve this on appeal and I continue to reaffirm [sic] that there was no illegal conduct on my part.”
IstoÉ is reporting that the PF did find evidence of this conduct.
Collor of Alagoas also faced a charge of “barbecue electioneering” — “Enjoy the free beer! Vote for me!” — and the Garotinhos of Rio were recently borked over “pavement electioneering” — “vote for me and I will pave your main drag!”
Acusação
The charge
Segundo o Partido Comunista Brasileiro (PCB), que deu entrada com o pedido de cassação, Cunha Lima teria distribuído cerca de 35 mil cheques da FAC (Fundação de Ação Comunitária) na campanha de 2006, quando concorria à reeleição ao governo do Estado. A defesa alegou que os cheques foram distribuídos de forma legal, e que os recursos são do Fundo de Combate à Pobreza do governo do estado.
According to the PCB, which filed the petition to [bork the Toucan], Cunha Lima distributed some 35,000 checks from the Community Action Fund during the 2006 campaign, in which he was standing for reelection. The defense say the checks were distributed legally and that the funds come from the state government’s Fund for the Combat Against Poverty.
O corregedor eleitoral, Carlos Alberto Lisboa, do Ministério Público Eleitoral, disse que não houve critérios na concessão dos benefícios e que faltou amparo legal na distribuição dos cheques.
The elections prosecutor, Carlos Alberto Lisboa, said there were no criteria for awarding the benefits and that the distribution of the checks had no legal foundation.
They also repeated a very common meme: All social-assistance programs are a form of vote-buying. As in “Lula’s social programs are a vote-buying scheme!”
The flag of Paraíba: “I deny!” I hear that João Pessoa is a ridiculously lovely place, by the way. We are itching to go there.
IstoÉ has made this case a sort of proprietary project — its very deliberate “we are not Veja!” stance was on display on election eve last year, when it featured a cover story on PSDB politicians tied to the “bloodsucker mafia” ambulance-procurement and earmarks scandal — and published (apparently leaked) factoids from the federal police investigation on July 15, 2007.
Colorful detail: the alleged operator of the vote-buying scheme threw a mountain of money of more than R$300,000 out the window into the street to avoid being caught with the evidence.
A reportagem de IstoÉ revela detalhes do inquérito, com declarações de eleitores ouvidos pela PF confessando que receberam dinheiro da coligação Por Amor à Paraíba, que tinha como candidato o governador Cássio Cunha Lima, para o pagamento de contas de luz. No subtítulo, a reportagem diz que “Nova Inquérito da PF mostra que Cássio Cunha Lima pagou contas de luz para se reeleger”. A legenda que ilustra a matéria diz que o governador paraibano está ameaçado de cassação. Veja, abaixo, a reportagem da revista IstoÉ, na íntegra:
The report from IstoÉ reveals details of the inquiry, with sworn statements from voters confessing that they got money from the “For the Love of Paraíba” coalition, which had Cunha Lima as its candidate, to pay electricity bills. The subhed of the report states that “New PF inquiry shows that Cunha Lima paid electricity bills to get reelected.” The caption to the piece says the governors risks being removed from office. The report follows, in its entirety.
“Durante o segundo turno das eleições para a escolha do governador da Paraíba, diversos motoboys visitaram os conjuntos habitacionais da periferia de João Pessoa e Bayeux. Eles recolhiam as contas de água, luz e telefone e devolviam tudo pago, desde que os moradores votassem em Cássio Cunha Lima (PSDB), o governador que disputava a reeleição. A aposentada Francisca Paulino de Araújo, 72 anos, é um dos vários eleitores que confirmaram em depoimento na Polícia Federal que votaram em Cássio em troca do pagamento de contas. “Eu estava precisando de dinheiro”, justificou Francisca na PF.
“During the second round of the elections for the state governor, a number of motorcycle couriers visited the public housing complexes on the outskirts of João Pessoa and Bayeux. They picked up electricity, water and telephone bills and brought them back paid, so long as residents voted for Cunha Lima, the incumbent governor who was running for reelection.” Retiree Francisca Paulino de Araújo, 72, is one of a number of voters that confirmed in a sworn statement to the federal police that they voted for Cássio in exchange for having their bills paid. “I needed money,” she told the PF.
“Qualquer pobre tomaria a mesma atitude”, disse ela num inquérito policial que tramita sob segredo de Justiça. A troca de votos por pagamento de contas é mais um conjunto de provas que serão juntadas ao pedido de cassação, que pode enterrar de vez o futuro político do governador. No último dia 28, o Ministério Público Eleitoral pediu cassação do mandato de Cássio, mas com base em outra investigação da PF, que confirmou a distribuição ilegal de 35 mil cheques para eleitores, conforme revelou ISTOÉ em novembro.
Any poor person would take the same attitude,” she said, during a police probe that is being conducted under seal. The exchange of votes for bill-paying is just one more collection of evidence that will be added to the petition to remove the governor from office, which could bury his future political career. On July 28, the elections prosecutor called for the governor’s removal from office, but based on another PF inquiry, which confirmed the illegal distribution of 35,000 checks for voters, as this magazine revealed in November.
A PF encontrou todos os recibos de contas pagas dos eleitores de Cássio em uma espécie de central do caixa 2 da campanha do governador, que funcionava no Edifício C oncorde, em João Pessoa, no escritório do locador de carros e produtor de cachaça Olavo Cruz Lira. Um velho amigo de Cássio e locador dos carros para o governo da Paraíba. Durante a busca e apreensão, foram encontradas em nome da família da aposentada Francisca Paulino de Araújo as contas de água e luz já pagas, no valor total de R$ 77,32. Este foi o valor do voto em Cássio. O voto da dona-de-casa Maria do Rosário César Vieira foi vendido por R$ 38,84, pagamento de duas contas. O voto do cabo PM Eduardo Luiz de Lima em Cássio saiu mais caro: R$ 112,77. O desespero para comprar a eleição era tanto que no dia 27 de outubro a operadora de caixa da lotérica Videosorte, Marinalva de Oliveira, surpresa com o volume de contas pagas para eleitores de Cássio, perguntou ao motoboy Marcos Antônio França de Melo: “Menino, que tanta conta é esta?” Apressado para buscar novo carregamento, o motoboy ironizou: “A família era grande!”
The PF found all the receipts for the accounts paid on behalf of Cunha Lima voters in a kind of “slush fund” central for the governor’s campaign, operating out of the Concorde Bldg in João Pessoa, in the offices of car rental impresario and moonshine manufacturer Olalo Cruz Lira. During the serving of search warrants, bills in the amount of R$77.32 in Ms. Araújo’s name were found, marked as paid. This was the value of a vote for Cássio. Housewife Maria César Vieira sold hers for R$38.84, the amount of two outstanding bills. Military police corporal Eduardo Luiz de Lima sold his vote more dear: R$112.77. The effort to buy the election was so desperate that on October 27, Videosorte lottery agency employee Marinalva de Oliveira, surprised with the amount of bills being paid on behalf of Cássio voters, asked “motoboy” [motorcycle courier] Marcos Antônio França de Melo: “Hey, kid, what is with all these bills?” In a hurry to go fetch a new shipment, the motoboy joked: “It was a big family!”
Quando os fiscais do Tribunal Regional Eleitoral chegaram para checar a denúncia de compra de voto, o empresário Olavo Cruz jogou R$ 304 mil em dinheiro vivo pela janela do prédio, para tentar se livrar do flagrante. Outros R$ 102,8 mil foram apreendidos dentro do escritório de Olavo. Agora, os laudos da PF mostram que, junto com o dinheiro, estavam contas de água, luz e telefone quitadas de 45 eleitores de Cássio Cunha Lima. Tinha até título de eleitor. Também foi encontrada uma pistola tcheca CZ-83, calibre nove milímetros.
When the TRE started checking into the accusation of vote-buying, businessman Olavo Cruz threw R$304,000 in cash out the window of his building, trying to avoid being caught red-handed. Another R$102,800 was seized in his office. Now, the PF reports show that, together with the money, there were water, electricity and phone bills paid on behalf of 45 Cunha Lima voters. They even bear the voter registration information of the payees. Also found was a Czech CZ-83 pistol, 9mm.
A PF recolheu ainda um recibo de doação de Olavo Cruz para a campanha da coligação Por Amor à Paraíba, no valor de R$ 400. Pior: o TRE encontrou no escritório de Olavo 238 recibos de abastecimento de combustível usados em favor da coligação liderada por Cássio, inclusive do carro do governador. No computador de Olavo, mais fraudes. Há uma “Relação de Veículos sem Contrato”, incluindo um Corolla para “Cássio” e o outro para “Ronaldo C. Lima Filho” (irmão do governador). A PF conclui: “Olavo Cruz, com a “ajuda” do Estado, comandava uma das células que tinha como objetivo a reeleição do atual governador.”
The PF also collected a receipt for a donation by Olavo Cruz to the “For the Love of Paraíba” coalition in the amount of $400. Worse: The TRE found in Olavo’s office 238 receipts for gasoline fillups in favor of the campaign, including for the governor’s own car. On Olavo’s computer, more fraud. There is a “report on vehicles with no contract,” including a Toyota Corolla for “Cássio” and another for the governor’s brother. The PF concludes: “Olavo Cruz, with the ‘help’ of the State, commanded one of the cells that had as their objective the reelection of the current governor.”
