The recent documentaries about the palaces that belong to Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko were not accidental. The plan to destabilize Russia and Belarus has been put to the test in Brazil.
Jose Inacio Lula da Silva (aka Lula, as he is called in Brazil), the convicted and disgraced ex-President of Brazil, was acquitted on all counts on Tuesday, March 9. Lula was also given the green light to participate in the 2022 presidential campaign.
What the world liberal media presented as the world's largest anti-corruption operation has ended up ingloriously with conspiracy accusations against the US-disloyal politician.
The ex-president of Brazil from the leftist Workers' Party (PT) was twice convicted on two cases related to Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato) in the state of Parana in 2018 and 2019 court trials.
Lula was found guilty of hiding his property - a three-story penthouse in Guaruja, the State of São Paulo, which he had allegedly received as a bribe from Odebrecht, a contractor company, in exchange for services (lucrative contracts), in particular, for the state-run oil company Petrobras. The verdict stated that there was "documented evidence" to prove that Lula was "not truthful enough." In addition to еру nine-year prison sentence, the court ruled that Lula would no longer be allowed to hold public office.
Another thing is the "proven" kitchen renovation by the same contractor at Atibaia facility (Lula's another "palace") in São Paulo in 2014. The indictment stated that Lula was aware of the work carried out by Odebrecht because he had been informed of the repair schedule. In addition, it was "widely proven" that the former president's family frequently visited the property, as well as "that he liked the place as if it belonged to him, whether he owned it or not."
There were two other cases that did not end with corruption verdicts in Lula's "collaboration" with Odebrecht.
In November 2019, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva was released from Curitiba prison by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) pending the finalization of his appeals.
On Monday, March 8, one of them yielded a result. Federal Supreme Court Justice (STF) Edson Facin overturned the aforementioned sentences due to the incompetence of the federal judge of the state of Parana to consider those cases. He announced that the STF was reviewing the former president's defense request to suspect the judge of the State of Paraná of bias.
This judge's name is Sergio Moro. He has made a dazzling career for himself on Operation Car Warsh. In the event that the STF finds out that Moro was acting in a "biased and manipulative manner," all investigative actions that he had authorized as a judge will be canceled. This includes search warrants, seizure and disclosure of telephone and bank records, and wiretapping. In a nutshell, the case will fall apart.
Moro has a shady reputation in Brazil today, as he agreed to serve as the minister of justice for President Jair Bolsonaro, who was elected in the 2018 election, which Lula was unable to take part in due to the verdict, even though he was a clear favourite in the race.
The leaked recordings of telephone conversations that Sergio Moro had with prosecutors of the State of Parana added more fuel to the fire. The leaked recordings made it clear that they acted on his instructions. Experts interpreted it as a "legal scandal."
In an interview with UOL on February 18, Lula said that the conspiracy between the prosecution and the judge to unfairly incriminate him in Operation Car Wash with the help of traditional media outlets had turned lies into truth.
"I don't know what decision the STF will make, but I am hostage to the biggest lie in this country. This lie was invented by Sergio Moro and a gang of prosecutors from Curitiba to prevent me from running for president of the republic," he said.
The ex-president said that he did not decide yet whether he intended to run for president in 2022. However, he said that the participation of his fellow party member Fernando Haddad was "extraordinary", as he received 47 million votes in the 2018 election.
A poll published by the O Jornal do Estadão newspaper said that as many as 50 percent of Brazilians surveyed would vote for Lula if he could run again. Bolsonaro had the support of 38 percent. In addition, 56 percent of respondents said that they would not vote for Bolsonaro.
Thus, the huge political and social capital that Operation Car Wash has produced is going up in smoke because it was based on lies.
Corruption in Brazil has not declined. Moro bragged about the amounts that he received for the state treasury, but he did not say at his press conferences that 50 percent of the money from the fines that the US Department of Justice imposed on Petrobras and Odebrecht would be wired to private law funds, managed by Car Wash members and the leaders of NGOs funded by Soros foundations.
Brazil is still in chaos due to uncertainty over an inadequate response to the pandemic. The budget deficit has reached an all-time high along with the national debt, which is close to the equivalent of 90 percent of GDP.
In 2020, the Brazilian economy contracted by about 4.3 percent, which marked the largest decline in 25 years, according to the Central Bank. Household consumption, the driving force of the Brazilian economy, ended 2020 with a decline of 5.6 percent, according to the Center for Economic Research of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV).
Brazil's economic growth depends on whether Brazil succeeds in the immunization campaign and manages to take control of the pandemic. The incumbent president still has big problems to deal with in these areas.
This story gives a glimpse of how the process may develop in Russia and Belarus, given the recent documentaries about Putin's and Lukashenko's palaces.
One is left to hope that Russian judges were not trained in the United States, like Moro was.
Of course, this does not nullify corruption in top government echelons. Nevertheless, corruption is not about palaces - it is about the corruption of elites and their love for budget assets. Corruption is about godfathers and nepotism of the entire administrative system and the artificial absence of a political alternative in the elections.
Brazil's experience also proves that the liberal model no longer reproduces itself. There is no free market either - everything is ruled by unscrupulous politicians. Therefore, there is a need for justice, a stronger regulatory role of the state that left-wing parties can provide.
If leftist forces return to power in Brazil (as it happened in Argentina where Kirchnerists returned to power), one may expect a much more balanced policy towards Russia. Moreover, Brazil may take an allied position in its relations with Russia and follow Argentina's example as far as the purchase of the vaccine is concerned. To crown it all, all democratic countries of the continent - Bolivia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba - will be able to take a breath of air because the USA's influence will decline sharply.