Some 150 intellectuals from around the country, led by a group of professors at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), are to launch a manifesto tomorrow criticizing the handling of the ongoing political crisis that has enveloped the country.
The document is entitled “For a rigorous investigation of corruption, punishment of those involved and democracy.” It calls for “following up on all the evidence…. including facts that point in the direction of the presidency… even if it leads to impeachment.”
The document has harsh criticism for both sides in the scandal: “The PT and the Lula government have been dragging their feet and holding up the investigation ever since charges of vote buying in the Congress became public, while the opposition parties, the PFL and PSDB, have concentrated on the electoral benefits they can reap from the scandal while fiercely heading off any attempt to examine corruption in PFL-PSDB governments in the past.”
And it laments the fact that the PFL and PSDB strongly support the economic policies of the Lula government with the result that they “sacrifice investigative opportunities” whenever supposed criminal activities come close to the Ministry of Finance.
As for the Lula government and the PT (led by the Campo Majoritário faction), Unicamp political scientist, Armando Boito says:
“They have taken up old anti-democratic practices… Lula has not had a single press conference since he took office and what is worse, he thinks that is normal. His presidency looks like a monarchy….
“They have also made it more difficult to investigate authorities. Under Lula the president of the Central Bank has the same privileges as a minister of State. Who ever heard of such a thing?”
The entire manifesto, in Portuguese, can be read at: www.unicamp.br
Agência Brasil
