The council of Brazil’s federal Bar Association (Conselho Federal da Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil) (OAB) rejected a motion to seek the impeachment of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
However, by a vote of 17 to 15, a proposal to present a formal criminal accusation against the president was approved.
According to the head of the OAB, Roberto Busato, "Our proposal strengthens the desire by Brazilian society for a more profound investigation of what happened." Busato added that if new information becomes available the council may reconsider impeachment.
Busato referred specifically to an interview that appeared in the press over the weekend by the former general secretray of the PT, Silvio Pereira, in which he accused the Workers’ Party of setting up a pool of companies interested in winning government contracts and having bills approved in Congress.
Pereira said the objective of the scheme (known as the Valerio pipeline(Valerioduto)), which was illegal, was to raise around US$ 500 million (1 billion reais).
ABr