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Protests in Brazil after Release of Rousseff-Lula Recording
[ALMANAR.LB] Outraged Brazilians protested in Brasilia and Sao Paulo late Wednesday following the release of a taped phone call between President Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.During the call, recorded earlier Wednesday by police and released by a federal judge, Rousseff called Lula on his bugged phone to tell him she would be sending him the official decree nominating him as her chief of staff so that he could make use of it "if necessary."
The recording was made public by federal judge Sergio Moro, who is heading a probe into Brazil's biggest ever corruption scandal. Lula vigorously denies involvement in the scandal, in which Sherlocks say construction companies conspired with Petrobras executives to overbill the oil giant to the tune of $2 billion, paying huge bribes to politicians and parties along the way. The release of the recording caused an uproar in Congress, where furious opposition politicians shouted "Resign! Resign!" Some 2,000 people spontaneously gathered in the capital Brasilia demanding that Lula step down and Rousseff leave office and to show their support Moro. As night fell, another protest began in Sao Paulo, according to an AFP photographer. "Resign! Resign!" shouted several thousand protesters at the foot of a highrise housing FIESP, a powerful federation of Sao Paulo industries that was illuminated in green and yellow -- Brazil's national colors -- in addition to a large inscription that read "Impeach now." Posted by: Fred 2016-03-18 |
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