CORRUPTION-BRAZIL: Fatal Contradictions

By Mario Osava Reprint | | Print |

Analysis by Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 28 2005 (IPS) - When Brazilian President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva took office on Jan. 1, 2003, he had little manoeuvring room in economic terms, while facing similar constraints on the political front, and it is his emphasis on the former, to the detriment of the latter, that has given rise to the crisis now facing his government.

The problem is not only that Lula’s governing leftist Workers Party (PT) came to power with only 91 of the 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies or lower house of Congress and 14 of the 81 seats in the Senate, and was thus obliged to forge alliances with other parties to ensure the passage of its bills.

In addition, Lula and the PT achieved power on highly contradictory bases.

The first, and probably most troublesome, is the contradiction between the platform that brought Lula to office and the policies and principles traditionally defended by the PT and the other leftist forces that backed him. These differences have been particularly marked in the economic policies followed by the Lula administration, but have extended to other areas as well.

In June 2002, three and a half months before the election, to assuage the fears awakened in the business and financial sectors by the prospect of a leftist victory, the PT leadership adopted the so-called Letter to the Brazilian People, which pledged respect for all existing contracts and continuity of the previous government’s policy of economic stability.

At the time, the climate of euphoria created by the imminence of an electoral triumph after 20 years of struggle did not allow for a clear-headed analysis of what the Letter represented: the negation of the ideals that the PT had historically championed and used as the basis for fierce opposition to previous administrations.

The logical outcome of this step was constant resistance and in some cases open opposition on the part of some PT lawmakers towards the proposals put forward by Lula and his cabinet.

The 2003 adoption of a measure to cut social spending as a means of reducing the deficit cost the PT the desertion of two deputies and a senator, who went on to found the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL).

A great number of government-sponsored bills have sparked dissent among PT lawmakers. As opposition leaders frequently point out, the biggest hurdles facing the Lula administration in the Brazilian Congress arise from the ranks of the ruling party itself.

At the same time, the government’s support base in Congress was founded on a coalition of incompatible forces.

The PT, born and bred within the Brazilian left, forged an alliance with some of the country’s most conservative political forces, like the Liberal Party (PL) and the so-called Progressive Party (PP), which was actually founded by well-known supporters of the 1964-1985 military dictatorship.

A centrist political force is not created by bringing together the two extremes, as one critic ironically pointed out. Political circumstances have given rise to an unusual situation, in which rival parties have joined together to defend social democratic ideals.

The Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) heads up the opposition to the PT government, although it recognises that Lula has basically continued to follow the same path tread by former president and PSDB leader Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2003), especially with regard to the economy.

Because of this dependence on small right-wing forces, the PT has ended up fostering a practice it criticised in the past: the switching of alliances from one party to another within Congress. As a result, the PL and Brazilian Labour Party (PTB) currently have twice as many seats in Congress as they originally won in the October 2002 elections.

While this practice is still taboo within the PT itself, the government has instead encourage migration towards its conservative allies – the PL, PP and PTB.

These shifting loyalties are often brought about by promises of rewards that can easily degenerate into corruption, the root of the scandals now besieging the PT, Lula and his government.

The main catalyst for the current political crisis (the allegation that the PT bribed PL and PP lawmakers in exchange for support for its bills) came from former PTB president Roberto Jefferson – in other words, from within the ruling coalition itself.

But the government has also betrayed other ideals and principles traditionally defended by the PT. The enactment of a law that opened the doors to genetically modified crops and broken promises for the demarcation of indigenous lands and faster agrarian reform have sparked anger and protest from within the PT ranks and allied social movements.

According to numerous former members, the PT violated the ethical standards that once distinguished it from other Brazilian political parties when its leadership decided to accept campaign contributions from banks and companies that provide services to the government, behind the backs of the party membership.

This decision led to the birth and growth of the “business left”, a process that has promoted the rise of a new class within the party leadership, responsible for drumming up financing, according to Cesar Benjamin, a former member of the PT national executive.

As a result of all of these factors, the current crisis has befallen a government and party already weakened by internal dissent and contradictions, further accentuating the threat posed by the corruption scandal.