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Senator Antonio Carlos Magalhães and Senate president José Sarney
represent a dying
species. President Lula has four, maybe eight
years to give Brazil a stable democratic foundation. In this
new Brazil,
"colonels" like ACM and Sarney will be relegated to the history
books, just as the military,
which are back in their barracks.
By
John Fitzpatrick
When Senator Antonio Carlos Peixoto de Magalhães resigned in disgrace as chairman of the Senate a year ago, after
breaking the rules he was supposed to uphold, few observers thought we had seen the last of him. The veteran politician's
strength in his home state of Bahia and his sheer tenacity were such that that
"até logo" rather than
"adeus" was the proper farewell. Any disappearance would only be temporary. Sure enough, Magalhães bounced back—he was re-elected by
Baianos with almost 3 million votes, in last October's elections—and, despite his blackened reputation, was on the brink of becoming
the chairman of the justice and constitution committee.
However, ACM (as he is known here) is back in the headlines again, facing allegations of illegally tapping the
phones of political rivals. He has also been accused of tapping the phones of an ex-mistress and her husband and harassing
and intimidating the couple. A weekly magazine,
Isto É, quoted the senator as saying that he had ordered the phones of a
congressman from Bahia, Geddel Vieira Lima (PMDB—Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement), to be tapped.
Isto É quoted ACM as saying he had almost 200 hours of taped phone calls by Vieira Lima, including some with the President of the
Republic. (It is unclear if the alleged quote refers to the current President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, or former President Fernando
Henrique Cardoso, although it is probably the latter.)
Angry congressmen have started calling for the creation of a special parliamentary committee (known as a CPI) to
investigate the claims. It is not clear whether this will come about but it is looking likely that the federal police will be
questioning the senator. The affair has, once again, lifted the carpet and shown the grimy world of politics in Bahia, which ACM
rules like a despot. Naturally, ACM has denied the allegations. "Anything that happens in Bahia is put down to me or Nosso
Senhor do Bonfim", he said, referring to a term for Jesus Christ used in the Northeast and the name of one of Salvador's most
famous churches. By comparing himself to Senhor Bom Jesus do Bonfim, ACM is showing the spirit which has kept him ahead
through some of the most turbulent decades in Brazil's history.
Arrogant Politician or Jilted Lover?
It is not for us to assume that ACM is guilty or not, but it does seem strange that a man who has been prominent in
politics for almost half a century and held virtually every leading position in the land, except the presidency, should harass the
husband of an old flame. Maybe it shows that ACM is an arrogant product of the corrupt Northeastern style of politics or maybe
he is just a lovelorn swain, upset at being jilted. One also wonders whether ACM really has 200 hours of taped
conversation with Vieira Lima and whether he has had the time—8.3 days without sleep—to listen to it. If so, we hope it was worth it.
The affair highlights the unbelievable amount of illegal phone tapping which goes on in Brazilian politics and
business. We could write pages on the number of politicians who claim their phones, particularly cellulars, are being bugged.
Former President Cardoso's telephone conversations were frequently tapped and Lula's right hand man, José Dirceu, was
quoted as saying that he hardly used cellulars any more.
Even the Justice Minister, Thomas Bastos, said that he believed his phones were being tapped although he had
installed an anti-tapping device. In technological terms it is very easy to tap phones. For example, American news reports say,
that as part of psychological warfare against Iraq, US intelligence is calling the personal cellulars of Iraqi generals and
warning them not to oppose any American invasion. If any of our readers are planning to visit Salvador for Carnaval
celebrations, we would urge them to be careful what they say on the phone. You never know who might be listening and taping you conversation.
This latest episode also highlights one of the difficulties facing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who received
ACM´s backing in the second round of the election campaign. Although the PT is opposed to ACM´s style of politics, as well
as his free-market PFL party, Lula knows he will need ACM´s support and will have to turn a blind eye to some of his activities. Lula's predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, also had to contend with Magalhães for most of his two mandates
until they finally broke up. Lula does not want a CPI to be set up as it will divert attention away from his plans to reform the
pension and tax systems. However, it is beginning to look as though the government will have to go along with the idea or, at
least, pay lip service to it.
PT Radicals - Party Poopers
The revelations about the latest scandal involving ACM are a gift to the radical wing of the PT. These radicals have
become quite vociferous and are starting to spoil the honeymoon Lula is still enjoying with the people at large. This week's
decision by the central Bank to raise basic interest rates from 25.5 percent to 26.5 percent was another propaganda gift to them.
They will use this rates hike to complain that Lula is continuing with Cardoso's policies and fight against any idea of granting
the Central Bank autonomy. These leftists are talking of holding a national plebiscite to vote on the issue. This will never
come about, but one has to compliment the radicals on the speed with which they have reacted to Lula's
poacher-turned-gamekeeper act.
Ironically, Lula met ACM this week at a lunch for the Senate chairman, former President José Sarney, another
Northeastern "colonel", detested by the PT radicals. Sarney also supported Lula in the election campaign. Lunching with two
representatives of the interests which Lula spent a lifetime attacking shows how well—or badly—the new President is doing,
depending on your point of view. If you are a radical then he is betraying everything he and the PT stand for, but if you are a
pragmatist he is only being realistic.
In fact, maybe the radicals should look at the situation the other way round and see how much progress Brazil has
made. Instead of seeing their president kowtowing to two corrupt old-style bosses, they should see two old-style political
bosses kowtowing to him, to hold onto their power base for as long as possible. The fact is that ACM and Sarney represent a
dying species. As democracy becomes more deeply rooted, this kind of politician will become less influential. Lula has four
years ahead of him, with the chance of another four. In eight years' time, if he has made as much progress as Cardoso made in
his two terms, Brazil should have a stable democratic foundation. This new Brazil will have relegated "colonels" like ACM
and Sarney to the history books, just as the military, which ruled for two decades, are now back in their barracks firmly under
civilian control.
John Fitzpatrick is a Scottish journalist who first visited Brazil in 1987 and has lived in São Paulo since 1995. He
writes on politics and finance and runs his own company, Celtic Comunicações—
www.celt.com.br , which specializes in
editorial and translation services for Brazilian and foreign clients. You can reach him at
jf@celt.com.br
© John Fitzpatrick 2003
You can also read John Fitzpatrick's articles in
Infobrazil, at
www.infobrazil.com
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