Brazil minister in latest corruption scandal to step aside

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Brazil minister in latest corruption scandal to step aside

By AFP 48 mins ago .

A key minister in Brazil's new government who was caught on tape allegedly discussing a plot to derail a massive corruption probe said Monday he is taking a leave of absence.

Planning Minister Romero Juca said he would step aside starting Tuesday. He is one of the main figures in the government assembled by acting president Michel Temer after the suspension of president Dilma Rousseff on May 12 for an impeachment trial.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/brazil-minister-in-latest-corruption-scandal-to-step-aside/article/466098#ixzz49W5rCZQI

[Judi Lynn]

1. Key Brazil minister steps aside in political scandal

Mon May 23, 2016 5:19pm EDT
Related: World, Brazil

Key Brazil minister steps aside in political scandal

BRASILIA | By Silvio Cascione and Maria Carolina Marcello


Brazil's Planning Minister Romero Juca said on Monday he will temporarily step down after a newspaper published recordings of him discussing plans to obstruct the country's biggest-ever corruption investigation, which includes him among its targets.

Juca's decision to take a leave from his post to defend himself is a huge blow for Interim President Michel Temer, who counted on the experienced senator to secure legislative support for key economic measures and reforms.

The new scandal also raises fears of further political instability in Brazil less than two weeks after President Dilma Rousseff was suspended to stand trial in the Senate for allegedly breaking fiscal laws.

. . .

In recorded comments made before Rousseff was suspended and published by newspaper Folha de S. Paulo on Monday, Juca told an ally he agreed on the need for a "national pact" to circumscribe the probe known as "Operation Car Wash."

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics-idUSKCN0YE1K7

[Jazzgirl]

2. Do you think Dilma got dumped on or set up?

I haven't been following the site or the story as closely as I've been busy with life stuff but it all seems fuzzy to me.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Brazilian senator caught in secret recording planning impeachment of ousted president

Brazilian senator caught in secret recording planning impeachment of ousted president


STEPHANIE NOLEN

RIO DE JANEIRO — The Globe and Mail


Published Monday, May 23, 2016 2:59PM EDT

Last updated Monday, May 23, 2016 5:17PM EDT

A Brazilian senator who had a key role in the drive to oust president Dilma Rousseff has been caught in a secret recording in which he appears to say impeaching her is the best way to shut down a high-profile corruption probe. The conversation, recorded in March as a first impeachment vote loomed, was made public on Monday and created fresh political turmoil in Latin America’s largest country.

In the recording, Senator Romero Juca, a key member of the new government that took power after Ms. Rousseff was pushed out, seems to tell a colleague that all those being investigated, including the two of them, need to advance a “political action” to ensure the impeachment. He says that will allow them to “staunch the bleeding” caused by the Lava Jato probe, in which dozens of top political figures have been indicted or are under investigation for accepting what prosecutors say totals more than $2-billion (U.S.) in bribes. And he says he has talked to senior military officials and to Supreme Court justices who back a “pact” to shut down the investigation.

The origin of the recording is unclear. Its existence was made public Monday morning by the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, and Mr. Juca confirmed its authenticity in a midday press conference in which he defended his actions, saying Folha had only released extracts that took its meaning out of context. But four hours later, he announced he would take leave from his cabinet job until prosecutors ruled he had committed no criminal offence. The recording may have been leaked by prosecutors worried that the new government is succeeding in the sort of plan Mr. Juca is heard describing, to shut down the probe, known by its police code name Lava Jato.

On May 12, Brazil’s Senate voted to put Ms. Rousseff on trial for violating a federal budgetary law, forcing her to step down for up to six months. She was replaced by her vice-president, Michel Temer, who in his first 10 days of power has announced a range of policy decisions that are decidedly more right-leaning than were those of Ms. Rousseff’s elected government.

More:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/brazilian-senator-caught-in-secret-recording-planning-impeachment-of-ousted-president/article30119932/

[Judi Lynn]

4. Brazil’s Budget Minister Takes Leave of Absence During Probe

Brazil’s Budget Minister Takes Leave of Absence During Probe

by Carla Simoes

Arnaldo Galvao

Mario Sergio Lima
t mariosbessa


May 23, 2016 — 3:36 PM CDT

Updated on May 23, 2016 — 4:44 PM CDT

Brazil’s newly-appointed Budget Minister Romero Juca said he will take a leave of absence after allegations surfaced that he wanted to obstruct the sweeping corruption probe known as Carwash.

Juca, the leader of Acting President Michel Temer’s political party, will return to his former job as senator and make room for Dyogo Oliveira to take the helm of the Budget Ministry on Tuesday. The surprise announcement on Monday afternoon capped a day of speculation about Juca’s future in the cabinet after he initially refused to step down.

The dramatic departure highlights the challenges facing Temer, who with less than two weeks on the job was forced into damage-control mode as the corruption scandal encroached on his government. The allegations emboldened Temer’s critics, who heckled the acting president and allies when they visited Congress, accusing them of orchestrating a coup against Dilma Rousseff.

"Political instability will continue to prevail in the new government," said Bruno Rovai, Brazil analyst at Barclays Plc in New York. Temer’s administration "probably will be negatively affected by the instability caused by the Carwash investigations

More:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-23/brazil-budget-chief-takes-leave-of-absence-amid-corruption-probe

[Judi Lynn]

5. Brazil's planning minister resigns hours after declaring he would not do so

Brazil's planning minister resigns hours after declaring he would not do so

Published May 23, 2016/
EFE

Brazilian Planning Minister Romero Juca on Monday announced that he had requested a "discharge" from his post.

"I'm going to request a discharge from my post until such time as the Attorney General's Office expresses itself about my case," said Juca after accompanying Acting President Michel Temer and other ministers from the economic area to a meeting with Senate chief Renan Calheiros.

"Starting (Tuesday), I will be separated from my post until my situation is defined. If (the judiciary) says that I have not committed any crime, as my attorneys and I claim, it will fall to President Michel Temer to invite me into the government once again," he said.

Juca said that, during this absence, the key Planning portfolio will be administered by the current deputy minister, Dyogo Enrique de Oliveira, but in political circles the word is that Temer has begun seeking a definitive replacement

More:
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2016/05/23/brazil-planning-minister-resigns-hours-after-declaring-would-not-do-so/

[Judi Lynn]

6. Scandal Ensnares Brazil Minister

Scandal Ensnares Brazil Minister


By BAND NEWS, VIA REUTERS | May. 23, 2016 | 0:21

President Michel Temer’s planning minister said he would step down after the leak of a recording in which he discussed impeding Brazil’s corruption scandal.

http://www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/100000004431892/scandal-ensnares-brazil-minister.html?playlistId=1194811622205

video at link.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Corruption scandal throws Brazil's interim government into disarray

Corruption scandal throws Brazil's interim government into disarray

23 May 2016


[font size=1]
FP / Evaristo Sa

Brazilian acting President Michel Temer (C), Senate's President Renan Calheiros (R) and Planning Minister Romero Juca are pictured at the National Congress in Brasilia on May 23, 2016
[/font]


Acting Brazilian president Michel Temer's government faced its first major crisis Monday when a key minister stepped aside following a leaked recording in which he appears to discuss using the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff to derail a huge corruption probe.

Planning Minister Romero Juca said in a hurried appearance before television cameras that he would step aside starting Tuesday. Although he did not resign, he was not expected to return, the Globo news site reported, quoting sources close to Temer.

The scandal threatened Temer just 11 days after taking power from Rousseff, who was suspended from the presidency on May 12 by the Senate for the start of an impeachment trial on charges of breaking government accounting rules.

Juca, who is Temer's right-hand man, had been due to help lead the team asking Congress to approve urgent -- and potentially controversial -- measures aimed at pulling Brazil out of recession.

More:
https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/corruption-scandal-throws-brazils-interim-government-disarray

[MisterP]

8. these sorts of regimes have very high turnover until a strongman rises