For three years, Brazilians have become used to waking up to images of top politicians or captains of industry being perp-walked to police cars, the result of an ever-widening investigation into the sale of favors by the political elite that led to charges against the Brazilian president.
What began as a probe of money-laundering has sprawled into a mega-scandal, primarily uncovering a scheme by construction companies to overcharge in contracts with the state oil company.
It has seen dozens of politicians and business executives put in prison and uncovered graft at a variety of major infrastructure projects, including in contracts for the Rio Olympics.
Many Brazilians hoped the “Operation Car Wash” investigation would finally put an end to the country’s long culture of corruption.
However, they increasingly question whether the biggest corruption probe in Brazil’s history is really making a dent.
“There is this real tension here between the forces of impunity in Brazil and the forces that are trying to get rid of that impunity,” said Matthew Taylor, a professor at the School of International Service at American University and a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Brazil has been through an accountability spurt, but it’s hard to know whether that spurt turns into a major shift in accountability in Brazil or whether it just peters out.”
There are signs the forces for impunity will not give up without a fight.
On the same day in March that construction company executives were testifying to a federal court about a sprawling scheme to buy favors from Brazil’s politicians, Braizilian President Michel Temer was holding an off-the-books meeting at his home to set in motion his own plot to provide favors for US$11.6 million in bribes, according to an indictment filed by the Brazilian attorney general.
Temer denies the allegation that he arranged with Joesley Batista, then-chairman of major meatpacker JBS, to receive monthly payments in exchange for helping the company get favorable government decisions.
The two also allegedly discussed buying the silence of a jailed former lawmaker who Temer apparently feared could implicate him.
In another worrying sign, members of Brazilian Congress late last year tried to pass measures that would make it harder to prosecute corruption, including proposals to grant themselves amnesty and introduce penalties for prosecutors and judges who overreach.
Yet another came this week, when the federal police shut down the primary task force assigned to the Car Wash probe, saying the officers would be rolled into an already existing division that investigates corruption.
“Brazilians are so tired of not seeing the corruption change,” said Paulo Alentajano, a geography professor who participated in an anti-Temer rally. “We protest and yet for these politicians it’s business as usual. Brazil has a long way to go.”
One problem in such investigations is Brazil’s two-tiered judicial system — one track for senior politicians, another for everyone else.
Regular courts have jailed the former governor of Rio de Janeiro state, the former chief executive officer of construction giant Odebrecht and a former speaker of the lower house of Congress, who was once considered the most powerful politician in Brazil.
However, sitting senior officials can be tried only by the Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal, the country’s highest court, and it has a backlog of 46,604 cases.
That means cases can drag on for years, if not decades.
In April, the court decided the winner of a 1987 soccer league title. Senior politicians who can hold onto office might simply die before the dragnet closes in.
Alejandro Salas, the regional director for the Americas at the Transparency International watchdog group, said that countries need to work harder at preventing corruption in the first place.
“Big investigations are very important, but are not enough,” Salas said. “Car Wash is a mechanism that only works once the people have stolen the money... It would be better to not have them stealing the money to start with.”
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