Brazil Congress passes anti-corruption bill after changing it

In a session that dragged out until the early hours of Wednesday (Nov. 30), the Brazilian lower house approved the text of an anti-corruption bill, with 450 votes for it, one against, and three abstentions.

Among the main items is the criminalization of the use of funds donated but not declared—known as slush funds. Candidates and campaign managers who violate this rule may be fined and spend two to five years in jail. Penalties may rise by a third if funds are found to stem from sources banned by electoral legislation or party regulations.

Judges and prosecutors under penalty of law

One of the most harshly criticized changes made to the original text was the addition of the criminalization of judges and prosecutors. The proposal was considered by Onyx Lorenzoni, in charge of the report on the piece of legislation, but was removed after he met with Car Wash investigators, who described it as an attempt by Congress members to retaliate for the probes targeting politicians.

In a note, they opposed the change and called it an attempt “to terrorize prosecutors, attorneys, and judges in the legitimate exercise of their duty to investigate, prosecute and try crimes, particularly those committed higher up in the political spectrum.”

According to the communication, statements saying that those authorities are “untouchable” or form “privileged caste” are “false and aimed at manipulating public opinion.”

Onyx Lorenzoni argued for the amendment to be rejected. In his view, its approval would be regarded as a “shut-up call” to judges and prosecutors. “If approved, this amendment will be known in Brazil as an anti-investigation amendment, an evil amendment. We will wait and discuss the matter in another bill,” he declared.

The approved bill

The legislation was backed by a large number of deputies. In their view, judges and members of the Public Prosecution Service often behave like political agents.

“The first measure in this package should be the end of privileges and abuses of power among them. There should be no castes,” said Weverton Rocha, head of the Democratic Labor Party (PDT).

Nelson Marchezan Junior, of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), in turn, sustained that the amendment would bring judges and prosecutors on a par with any other citizen. “Before us is a chance to into Brazilian judges and prosecutors into a citizen like any other—because if someone files a report against a judge or prosecutor today, they're brought to court, but when they pocket over $30 thousand, nothing happens,” he said.

Glauber Braga, of the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL), who opposes the amendment, maintained that “there should be clear penalties for abuse of power, for all powers, but we don't believe that this amendment is the answer to the issues raised by the deputies. It doesn't seem to be the best way out,” he said.

The bill, with its 10 measures to fight corruption, was brought forward by the National Strategy for the Combat Against Corruption and Money Laundering (ENCCLA), a forum made up of over 70 public agencies and private institutions linked to the prevention and repression of corruption and money laundering. It garnered over two million signatures and was turned into a bill, with the support of the Parliamentary Front for the Combat Against Corruption in March this year. The bill has been submitted to the Senate for further deliberation.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira