It seems Brazilian politics just can&#39;t catch a break as President Michel Temer becomes embroiled in a corruption scandal of his own. There have even been calls to impeach the President and you can read more details in our story <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/brazil-president-temer-put-under-investigation-refuses-to-quit-15768">here</a>. These corruption allegations are only the latest to hit people at the very top of Brazilian politics, if we look at the tenures of the previous two presidents, Luiz Inacio da Silva and Dilma Rousseff.

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The tenure of Dilma Rousseff was overshadowed by the Petrobras scandal (AFP)
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The presidency of Dilma Rousseff, in power from 2011 to 2016, was plagued by allegations of corruption involving the state oil company Petrobras scandal. Before she became president, Rousseff was chairman of Petrobras, and while she denies any knowledge of what happened, money from corporations who signed contracts with Petrobras <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6e8b0e28-f728-11e5-803c-d27c7117d132">was skimmed</a> by Petrobras executives, lobbyists and politicians belonging to Rousseff&#39;s leftist Worker&#39;s Party.

The embezzlement amounted to billions of dollars, billions that ended up getting accumulated in Swiss bank accounts and was possibly used to fund election campaigns of the ruling Worker&#39;s party. Rousseff, eventually did get impeached herself, though not over these corruption allegations, but for <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36028117">breaking fiscal laws</a> when her government moved funds between official programmes to hide a budget deficit.

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Former president Lula Da Silva is currently facing trial over corruption charges (AFP)
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Before Rousseff, Luiz Inacio da Silva or Lula, who was president from 2003 to 2011, was involved in the Petrobras scandal himself and is <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/brazils-lula-calls-corruption-trial-a-farce/article18426729.ece">currently facing trial</a> for it. He is alleged to have received a seaside apartment near Sao Paulo from the Brazilian construction company OAS, one of the main contractors for Petrobras. Rousseff had <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/17/release-tapped-phone-calls-lula-rousseff-deepens-brazil-chaos">even appointed</a> Lula as a cabinet minister in order to give him legal immunity from prosecution during the Petrobras scandal, but that was later <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/17/americas/brazil-rousseff-lula-tapes/">blocked by a judge</a>.

Even during his first term, Lula was hit by a <a href="http://www.livemint.com/Politics/xr0PkZA03RTN6yRCM7XC0J/Brazil-to-investigate-expresident-Lula-in-votebuying-scand.html">vote-buying scandal</a>, in which money from Marcos Valeiro, an advertising executive with several government contracts, was allegedly channelled to bribe lawmakers to vote in favour of government bills. Some of the money from Valeiro was also alleged to have been used to fund Lula&#39;s own election campaigns.

Sadly, Lula has emerged as the <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog-post/will-2018-bring-mandate-change-brazil">frontrunner in opinion polls</a> to become president in the 2018 elections. (Though a conviction in his trial would bar him from competing.) To expect him to be the man who cleans up Brazilian politics would be a fantasy.

The scandal involving Michel Temer continues the sorry saga of presidential misdeeds in Brazil

It seems Brazilian politics just can't catch a break as President Michel Temer becomes embroiled in a corruption scandal of his own. There have even been calls to impeach the President and you can read more details in our story here. These corruption allegations are only the latest to hit people at the very top of Brazilian politics, if we look at the tenures of the previous two presidents, Luiz Inacio da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. The tenure of Dilma Rousseff was overshadowed by the Petrobras scandal (AFP) × The presidency of Dilma Rousseff, in power from 2011 to 2016, was plagued by allegations of corruption involving the state oil company Petrobras scandal. Before she became president, Rousseff was chairman of Petrobras, and while she denies any knowledge of what happened, money from corporations who signed contracts with Petrobras was skimmed by Petrobras executives, lobbyists and politicians belonging to Rousseff's leftist Worker's Party. The embezzlement amounted to billions of dollars, billions that ended up getting accumulated in Swiss bank accounts and was possibly used to fund election campaigns of the ruling Worker's party. Rousseff, eventually did get impeached herself, though not over these corruption allegations, but for breaking fiscal laws when her government moved funds between official programmes to hide a budget deficit. Former president Lula Da Silva is currently facing trial over corruption charges (AFP) × Before Rousseff, Luiz Inacio da Silva or Lula, who was president from 2003 to 2011, was involved in the Petrobras scandal himself and is currently facing trial for it. He is alleged to have received a seaside apartment near Sao Paulo from the Brazilian construction company OAS, one of the main contractors for Petrobras. Rousseff had even appointed Lula as a cabinet minister in order to give him legal immunity from prosecution during the Petrobras scandal, but that was later blocked by a judge. Even during his first term, Lula was hit by a vote-buying scandal, in which money from Marcos Valeiro, an advertising executive with several government contracts, was allegedly channelled to bribe lawmakers to vote in favour of government bills. Some of the money from Valeiro was also alleged to have been used to fund Lula's own election campaigns. Sadly, Lula has emerged as the frontrunner in opinion polls to become president in the 2018 elections. (Though a conviction in his trial would bar him from competing.) To expect him to be the man who cleans up Brazilian politics would be a fantasy.

Brazil's love affair with corruption continues

Brazil&#39;s interim President Michel Temer asked Latin America&#39;s biggest construction tycoon, now in jail for his role in a massive corruption scheme, for millions of dollars in political donations, a report said Saturday. 
 
The report in Veja magazine quoted the former executive, Marcelo Odebrecht, saying that Temer asked him for &quot;financial support&quot; during a 2014 dinner with members of his centre-right PMDB party. 
 
Odebrecht said he donated 10 million Reais (about $3.156 million at current exchange rates) to the party, Veja reported. 
 
The information was quoted from a leaked portion of a plea deal that Odebrecht is negotiating with prosecutors from the huge corruption probe dubbed Operation Carwash, Veja said. 
 
Odebrecht has been jailed since last year for his role in the scheme in which his company and others paid bribes to the state oil giant Petrobras in exchange for inflated contracts. The scheme involved top politicians and some of Brazil&#39;s richest men. 
 
Odebrecht and other senior executives at his company have promised to give prosecutors the details of how they made illegal donations to politicians in the massive pay-to-play scheme. 
 
There was no evidence cited in the report that the donation allegedly given on Temer&#39;s request was a bribe. 
 
The report, however, was likely to stoke tensions in the capital Brasilia where Temer came to power in May after suspension of elected president Dilma Rousseff for a Senate impeachment trial. 
 
Rousseff looks set to be removed from office within weeks, with Temer staying on as president until 2018. 
 
Prosecutors and Temer&#39;s office could not be reached immediately for comment on the report. 
 
Veja quoted Temer&#39;s office as confirming the dinner and a discussion on &quot;financial aid from Odebrecht construction to the PMDB&#39;s electoral campaign in complete accordance with electoral legislation.&quot; 
 
Temer has not been accused in the Car Wash conspiracy, although many of his allies, including several ministers, have been. 
 
Many in Rousseff&#39;s Workers&#39; Party have also been accused of involvement in the embezzlement of Petrobras, including her mentor and predecessor in the presidency Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Rousseff herself has not been accused of taking bribes. 
 
Rousseff however is accused of spending money without congressional approval and taking out unauthorized loans from state banks to make the national budget look better than it really was as she campaigned for re-election in 2014. 
 
(AFP)

Jailed construction magnet Marcelo Odebrecht says he donated $3 million to PMDB party in 2014, Veja magazine reported

Brazil's interim President Michel Temer asked Latin America's biggest construction tycoon, now in jail for his role in a massive corruption scheme, for millions of dollars in political donations, a report said Saturday. The report in Veja magazine quoted the former executive, Marcelo Odebrecht, saying that Temer asked him for "financial support" during a 2014 dinner with members of his centre-right PMDB party. Odebrecht said he donated 10 million Reais (about $3.156 million at current exchange rates) to the party, Veja reported. The information was quoted from a leaked portion of a plea deal that Odebrecht is negotiating with prosecutors from the huge corruption probe dubbed Operation Carwash, Veja said. Odebrecht has been jailed since last year for his role in the scheme in which his company and others paid bribes to the state oil giant Petrobras in exchange for inflated contracts. The scheme involved top politicians and some of Brazil's richest men. Odebrecht and other senior executives at his company have promised to give prosecutors the details of how they made illegal donations to politicians in the massive pay-to-play scheme. There was no evidence cited in the report that the donation allegedly given on Temer's request was a bribe. The report, however, was likely to stoke tensions in the capital Brasilia where Temer came to power in May after suspension of elected president Dilma Rousseff for a Senate impeachment trial. Rousseff looks set to be removed from office within weeks, with Temer staying on as president until 2018. Prosecutors and Temer's office could not be reached immediately for comment on the report. Veja quoted Temer's office as confirming the dinner and a discussion on "financial aid from Odebrecht construction to the PMDB's electoral campaign in complete accordance with electoral legislation." Temer has not been accused in the Car Wash conspiracy, although many of his allies, including several ministers, have been. Many in Rousseff's Workers' Party have also been accused of involvement in the embezzlement of Petrobras, including her mentor and predecessor in the presidency Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Rousseff herself has not been accused of taking bribes. Rousseff however is accused of spending money without congressional approval and taking out unauthorized loans from state banks to make the national budget look better than it really was as she campaigned for re-election in 2014. (AFP)

Brazil's Temer asked Latin American tycoon for financial aid: Report

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