BRAZIL: POLITICAL ROUNDUP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000564 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV EAIR BR SUBJECT: BRAZIL: POLITICAL ROUNDUP REF: A. BRASILIA 457 ¶B. BRASILIA 501 ¶C. BRASILIA 555 ¶D. BRASILIA 485 -------------- Cabinet Shuffle Appears Complete -------------- ¶1. (SBU) President Lula has apparently wound up his cabinet shuffle after four rounds of swearing-ins, on March 12, 16, 23 and 29 (refs a, b and c). The new cabinet aims to satisfy all parties in his coalition, although the Brazilian Socialist Party was left with, in its view, inadequate representation. Lula may create a Secretariat of Ports, to be headed by the former Transportation Minister, Pedro Pritto (PSB). The new head of presidential communications is a former underground guerrilla fighter who participated in the 1969 kidnapping of the U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, Charles Elbrick. The Defense Minister, widely expected to be on his way out because of a persistent commercial air traffic crisis, stays, at least for now. Further cabinet shuffle details are reported septel and reftels. ¶2. (SBU) The coalition faithful are mainly satisfied with the results. Federal Deputy Wilson Santiago (PMDB, Paraiba) the immediate past leader of the PMDB in the Chamber, is typical. He told poloff on March 27 that he approved of the cabinet shuffle, "Above all for of its 'political accommodation.'" He also said the shuffle brought competency in the health and justice ministries. But opposition Federal Deputy Fernando Coruja, the Chamber leader of the Socialist People's Party (PPS),from Santa Catarina, told poloff on March 27 that the new cabinet is "weak, and Lula will be weak throughout his second term." Senator Jarbas Vasconcelos (PMDB, Pernambuco) went further. Speaking from a prepared text on March 29 in the Senate plenary, Jarbas said "the ministerial reform seems to have turned into only a means to meet the voracity of the coalition to the detriment of a technical profile more in tune with the country's needs." He also criticized the appointment of Tarso Genro as Justice Minister, noting that the appointment of a PT leader to oversee the Federal Police now makes all Federal Police actions politically suspect. -------------- -------------- Electoral Court Rules Against Party Switching After Elections -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Superior Electoral Court ruled on March 27 that elective offices belong to the parties, not the �00A;individual. With this ruling it is expected that the seats of politicians who switch after taking office may be declared vacant and assigned to the alternate ("suplente"). Suplente are usually of the same party as the party of the principal ("titular") holder of the seat at the time of the election. Large parties are celebrating the decision, especially the Liberal Front Party (PFL),which filed a case before the TSE that brought the decision. Poloff spoke this week with a number of federal deputies from large parties, including the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB),the PFL and the PSDB, and they welcomed the decision. ¶4. (SBU) The party that stands to lose from the decision is the mid-sized, non-ideological Party of the Republic (PR). The PR has been raiding other parties in the Chamber of Deputies and has wooed 15 deputies (from 25 to 40) into its ranks since Congress took office in February 1. ¶5. (SBU) The losing parties have mainly been in the opposition camp: the Socialist People's party (PPS) elected 22 deputies last October, had 17 by February 1, and now has only 14. The PFL and Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) elected 65 and 66 deputies respectively but now each have only 58. Party switching had an impact in the Senate as well, where the PMDB surpassed the PFL to become the largest party between election day and now. ¶6. (SBU) Federal Deputy Carlos Cadoca (PMDB-Pernambuco) and Federal Deputy Alceni Guerra (PFL, Parana) told poloff in separate conversations on March 28 and 29 that they understood the decision to be an interpretation of existing law, rather than a new ruling, and therefore can be applied BRASILIA 00000564 002 OF 002 retroactively. Guerra added that it was rare for the Supreme Court to overturn a decision of the Superior Electoral Court. -------------- PFL Becomes "Democrats" -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The Liberal Front Party (PFL) jettisoned its name and took on a new identity as the Democrats ("DEM" in Brazilian political shorthand). In a national convention in Brasilia on March 28, party members elected Federal Deputy Rodrigo Maia, age 36, as the new president. He is the son of Cesar Maia, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro. Federal Deputy Jose Carlos Aleluia (DEM-Bahia),told poloff over lunch on March 20 that the party wanted to project a new image, with young leaders and a deliberate identification with the U.S. Democratic Party, although there is no official connection and many in the PFL had always maintained contacts with the U.S. Republican Party. He said the party needed to move away from association with the military dictatorship and its aging leaders, such as outgoing PFL president Jorge Bornhausen, age 69, Senator Antonio Carlos Magalhaes, age 79, and Senator Marco Maciel, age 66. (Note: The connection with the military regime comes from the PFL's origins in factions of other, now defunct, parties that supported the military regime. End note.) Aleluia said his party still has a serious problem because it has a dearth of good candidates, and he has always believed that parties need, above all, good candidates. -------------- -------------- Supreme Court Gives Green Light for Air Traffic Crisis Inquiry -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) A Supreme Court judge ruled that the Congress may go ahead with a committee of inquiry ("CPI") into the air traffic crisis (ref d). In a decision that was interpreted differently by government and opposition politicians, Judge Celso de Mello ruled in favor of opposition forces who want a court intervention to override the Chamber plenary's decision last week not to establish an inquiry. Still, the Surpreme Court plenary must consider Mello's opinion, and could disagree. For now, the opposition is celebrating, while the government side says they await the Court's final decision. Even before Mello's ruling, though, Federal Deputy Fernando Coruja (PPS-Santa Catarina),told poloff on March 27 that he had no doubt the CPI would be established one way or another, whether in the Chamber after a Court ruling, or in the Senate, or even as a joint committee of inquiry. He said the CPI will reveal improper loans for campaign financing, and irregularities in Infraero, the state entity that runs airports. Deputy Nilson Mourao (PT, Acre) told poloff on March 27 that "CPIs are not what they appear to be; once established, they expand their scope." He said the government's objection to the CPI is that all CPIs become political fishing expeditions. For this reason, he said, any investigation into the air traffic crisis must be conducted differently. Chicola