'Vitoria!' Mass protests force Brazil congress to reject 'bill of discontent'
Brazil’s legislative body has thrown out a proposed constitutional amendment, which was a key grievance of protesters across the country. The government is also planning to introduce a range of political reforms to appease demonstrators.
In what in being seen as a victory for people power, the measure
was defeated on Tuesday by Congress by 430 votes to nine; with
the Rio Times saying the protests were “largely fueled by
social media and citizen journalists.”
The amendment, known as PEC 37, would have limited the power of
state prosecutors to investigate crimes.
The protesters had argued that PEC 37 might have opened the way
to more corruption; a problem which is endemic in Brazil.
Brazil ranks 69 out of 174 countries on the 2012 Transparency
International index, a score that indicates significant problems
with corruption.
The defeat of PEC 37 will keep public prosecutors at the
forefront of the fight against corruption. If the amendment had
become law, it would have granted power to carry out criminal
investigations exclusively to the police.
Critics to the bill argued that it would have prevented
prosecutors from conducting fair, impartial and effective
criminal investigations, particularly into organized crime and
corruption, in which the police themselves have been embroiled.
In December last year 63 police officers were arrested after a
yearlong bribery investigation.
The police in Brazil are amongst the most corrupt in the world
and have been mired in recent years in a number of corruption
scandals.
Congress also voted Tuesday to funnel all revenue and royalties
from newly-discovered oil fields off the Brazilian coast into
education and health.
The new fields are among the largest finds in recent years and,
once fully operational, are expected to produce tens of billions
of barrels of oil; although they are located deep on the ocean
floor and extracting the oil will require expensive new
technology and carries huge risks.
Protestors also voiced their
anger at other issues, which they say the government is
mishandling, including soaring levels of corruption, poor public
services and the huge cost of staging the 2014 World Cup and 2016
Summer Olympics, both to be held in Brazil.
The government, though, has promised a range of initiatives,
which they say will combat corruption and improve public
services.
A referendum proposing political reform is meant to address
campaign financing and political representation, and the
government says a vote may take place as soon as September 7.
A controversial plan to bring in foreign doctors to reverse a
shortfall in the country is being pushed through despite the
objections of Brazilian medical practitioners and an increase in
public transport fares in many cities has also been scrapped. The
President of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, has even proposed free
transport for students.
Yet it is still unclear whether or not these hasty political
concessions are having an impact. Protests are due to continue in
the city of Belo Horizonte Wednesday, with tens of thousands of
people expected to take part.
In a security nightmare for police, the demonstration will take
place at the same time as the semifinal of the Confederation Cup
between Brazil and Uruguay. One protest group has said it plans
to protest outside the national team’s hotel.
Last Saturday there were violent clashes in Belo Horizonte during
another protest and President Rousseff has warned against a
repeat of violence.
