Brazilian Deputies in the List to Be Kicked Out Can Resign and Avoid Penalties

The president of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, Severino Cavalcanti (PP-Pernambuco), has now sent the Ethics Council a final list of the last four deputies who face possible expulsion from the Congress.

They are: Romeu Queiroz (PTB-Minas Gerais), José Dirceu (PT-São Paulo), Sandro Mabel (PL-Goiás) and Francisco Gonçalves (PTB-Minas Gerais). They join four other deputies whose names Cavalcanti had already sent to the council: Sandro Matos (PTB-Rio de Janeiro), Neuton Lima (PTB-São Paulo), Joaquim Francisco (PTB-Pernambuco) and Alex Canziani (PTB-Paraná).


Pursuant to Brazilian legislative practice, the deputies can resign up to the moment they are formally charged. By resigning they do not lose their “political rights,” they just have to give up their seats in the Congress and can run for election again next year.


However, if the expulsion process goes through and they are expelled from Congress, besides losing their congressional seats, they are prohibited from running for office for eight years.


There is some question about the charges against Gonçalves as they are based exclusively on his own confession of wrongdoing. He is accused of not taking action after he saw a suitcase full of money in the Congress. All the others are accused of involvement in the payoff scheme denounced by deputy Roberto Jefferson (PTB-Rio de Janeiro).


ABr

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil Starts Selling the Not-That-Cheap Linux-Powered Popular Computer

Brazil’s state-owned Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF, Federal Savings Bank) started offering this Monday, November ...

Brazil Not Out of the Woods Yet. 1.3% GDP Growth Lower than Expected

According to the official release on Thursday from the Brazilian statistics office, the IBGE, ...

Despite Crisis Sale of Oil Products Grows 3% for Brazilian Petrobras

At least for now, the international financial crisis has not affected Brazilian state-controlled oil ...

Brazil’s Lula Excited With Addition of Biofuel to Diesel

With the production of H-Bio, consumers may be able to pay less for diesel ...

Brazilian Indians Invade Federal Site

Leaders of several indigenous peoples have occupied the headquarters of the National Health Foundation ...

Brazil’s Orange Juice Exports to Arab World Grow Four-Fold to US$ 3.3 Million

Consumption of Brazilian orange juice is increasing in the Arab countries, especially in Saudi ...

Brazil Wishes a Closer Relation to Algeria

Brazil wants to export airplanes and manufactured goods to Algeria. The Brazilian Minister of ...

Brazil: Talking to Dom Tomás, the Bishop of the Landless

They call occupations by the landless "violent," but what about the violence of hunger, ...

Number of Jobs Remains Stable in Brazil and Income Goes Up Slightly

Industrial employment has remained stable over the past two months, according to data released ...

Nobel Prize Winner and Catholic Leaders in Brazil Condemn US Imperialism

The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, was in the state of Paraná, in the ...