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In his third appearance at congressional hearings, adman/businessman Marcos Valério, spent 15 hours Tuesday, August 9, before the Vote Buying CPI of the Brazilian Congress.
Valério, who is accused of being the moneyman behind the cash-for-vote scandal that is plaguing Lula's administration, declared that he participated in financing election campaigns in 1998 and 2004, and that what he did in both cases was similar.
He admitted that in 1998 he gave undeclared funds to the PSDB candidate for governor of Minas Gerais, Eduardo Azeredo. In the election of 2004 he said he worked with the PT treasurer, Delúbio Soares.
Valério gave the CPI a list of people he gave money to in 1998. He said he gave the same list to federal prosecutors. As for the 2002 election, Valério said he did not participate in that campaign.
In his testimony, the adman also declared that he never spoke directly about loans to the PT with the then presidential Chief of Staff (ministro-chefe da Casa Civil), José Dirceu (PT-São Paulo), who has returned to the Chamber of Deputies since resigning.
Valério said that the PT treasurer, Delúbio Soares, told him that Dirceu knew about the loans.
Valério explained that he had four meetings with the head of the Casa Civil. Each time he was accompanied by representatives of the Banco Rural, BMG, Banco do Espírito Santo and the electricity company, Cemig.
"We never discussed the loans. He did not permit that. However, I assumed that he knew because the banks automatically renewed the loans," said Valério.
Punishment
The Chief Justice (presidente) of Brazil's Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal), Nelson Jobim, declared that he is in favor of punishing congressmen involved in corruption schemes that are being investigated by Parliamentary Investigative Commissions (CPIs).
Jobim went on to say that it is time to take another look at campaign financing. "We give politicians free time on radio and TV. But the production of these programs is very expensive, which creates a huge production, marketing apparatus around them," he said.
Agência Brasil
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