I must have written the words "the latest political scandal" dozens of times since Lula became President in January 2003. There have been so many scandals involving Lula’s Workers Party (PT) that it is difficult to keep count.

The main ones involve murder (the unsolved killing of PT mayor Celso Daniel), links to criminal gangs (the "Waldogate" affair involving one of the former PT boss José Dirceu’s aides), lying and intimidation (the fall of finance minister, Antonio Palocci), and, of course, the "bribes for vote" affair known as the "mensalão".

In the latest scandal ("bloodsuckers") in which local governments were overcharged for ambulances and the difference shared among politicians and businessmen, the PT is alleged to have offered a bribe of 1.75 million reais to crooked businessmen for information involving the PSDB. 

PT – Power Corrupts

It is quite incomprehensible that, after almost four years of non-stop scandal, the PT could even consider anything so stupid and pointless. What was the PT hoping to gain? Since Lula has never been seriously challenged by the PSDB presidential candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, the PT has nothing to gain.

Perhaps the target was Lula’s old rival José Serra, the PSDB candidate who is the favorite to win the São Paulo state governorship race in the first round. Maybe the PT zealots were hoping that some incriminating evidence would give their candidate, Aloisio Mercadante, a boost or perhaps they were trying to stop Serra getting ready for a launch at the presidency in 2010.

If so, these are pretty pathetic reasons for triggering another scandal, which is bound to become a big issue in Lula’s expected second mandate when he will already have enough tough issues to tackle, such as the growing deficit in the public accounts.   

It is difficult to know whether the PT is just incompetent or so desperate to retain and win power that it will do so at any price. The answer is probably a mixture of both. Whatever the reason, Lula is ultimately responsible for this state of affairs.

He has turned his back on the party he founded and washed his hands of any responsibility. He has survived while practically all his main advisers and ministers have been ousted. He has given no convincing explanation except to say that he has been "betrayed".

He has shown no real concern that his party and government have indulged in all kinds of unethical behavior. Instead, he has claimed that certain sections of society – the elite – have been out to get him and has claimed that other parties have misbehaved in similar fashion.

Much of this is true and a many of the people who have criticized Lula are hypocrites and liars. However, the PT has always claimed to be a more ethical party than the others and should expect to be judged by different standards.

Lula himself is probably honest (as are Alckmin and Serra) but he has tolerated corruption. He has been too slow to react and too quick to forgive and forget.

In the latest case, he has responded quickly and fired his campaign boss, Ricardo Berzoini. However, this is not much to cheer about since Berzoini is still the national chairman of the PT.

In some recent campaign speeches, Lula has openly stood on the platform with politicians accused of being involved in the "bloodsuckers" scandal. He has created a governing alliance which is so wide that it has no credibility and Congress has been so wrapped up in self analysis that the legislation process has virtually come to a halt.

Lula’s allies are PMDB leaders with shady pasts, his running mate, José Alencar, is a millionaire businessman with links to the evangelical movement, while one of his closest advisers, Aldo Rabelo, is a member of the Communist Party. 

Popular Support  

Despite all this Lula is on course for victory. I believe there are two main reasons for this. First of all, the PSDB has failed to exploit the PT’s weaknesses. The PSDB was wrapped up in an internal squabble about its candidate and ending up choosing the wrong one.

The PSDB speaks a lot about honesty and competence but its message would sound more convincing if it was not allied to the PFL, a party which has been exploiting Brazil for its own ends for 20 years, both inside and outside government.

The second reason is Lula’s personal stature which has won over the vast majority of the poorer section of society. Lula has given priority to the lower-paid by increasing the minimum wage well above inflation, granting pay rises to public service workers, creating new jobs in the public sector and expanding the social program which pays families a monthly sum providing they ensure that their children attend school. Around 11 million families stand to benefit from this program alone.

Lula has traveled around every part of the country and made personal appearances in front of millions of people who see him as their savior. Lula knows this and in his speeches tries to raise the self-esteem of these people by criticizing the elite which he claims cannot stomach the idea that a former metal worker, like him, is the President. He recently said that domestic maids no longer voted the way their employers told them.

I know one of these maids and she is a typical Lula supporter. She comes originally from Bahia and has more than 20 brothers and sisters and countless in-laws, nephews and nieces, practically all of whom live in São Paulo.

Her extended family has around 80 to 100 people of voting age, every one of whom will vote for Lula. She said none of them was  interested in the scandals. This attitude is reflected in millions of households across the country and highlights Lula’s popularity. Whether he deserves the support of honest people like this is another matter.

John Fitzpatrick is a Scottish writer and consultant with long experience of Brazil. He is based in São Paulo and runs his own company Celtic Comunicações. This article originally appeared on his site www.brazilpoliticalcomment.com.br. He can be contacted at jf@celt.com.br.

© John Fitzpatrick 2006

The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Aldo Rebelo (Partido Comunista do Brasil – São Paulo), announced Wednesday, May 10, that the directors of the Lower House (Mesa Diretora) had decided to divide up the 62 deputies accused of being involving in the scandal, popularly known as the "bloodsuckers" scheme or operation, into three groups.

The first group, who seem to have been directly involved in the scheme, will immediately be investigated by the Chamber of Deputies’ commission on suspicious activities (Comissão de Sindicância da Corregedoria da Casa).

A second group, which seems to have been indirectly involved in the scheme, will be put on a kind of standby as investigations continue and more evidence is gathered.

A third group, described by Rebelo as "people whose involvement is open to reasonable doubt," will be examined one-by-one to see if charges against them can be dropped. Rebelo declared that the Corregedoria and other Chamber authorities would treat the issue with caution.

Agência Brasil