Temer scandal better than TV
LAUGHTER BEST MEDICINE FOR BRAZILIANS It’s hard to compete, says on Twitter as scandal unfolds.
of Cards
THouse
he cast of ruthless men in Brazil’s corruption crisis prompts comparisons to the Netflix series, House of Cards. The scandal enveloping President Michel Temer is as dark as the US hit TV series. But for all of Temer’s allegedly rampant criminality – taking huge bribes and conspiring to prevent a politician jailed for corruption from talking to prosecutors – the scandal is riddled with amateurism.
The plot starts on March 7, when the boss of the world’s biggest meat company, Joesley Batista, secretly recorded Temer allegedly giving the okay for hush money payments. Asked to explain why he’d met at midnight with a man already under a corruption investigation, Temer put his foot in it. Batista was desperate to discuss a rotten meat controversy, he told Folha newspaper.
But his account had a problem: the controversy he spoke of hadn’t happened by then.
Placed under investigation, the alleged criminal mastermind fought back this weekend with one of his favourite weapons: the dinner party. Temer hoped to break bread with politicians and get their reassurances they were not seeking his impeachment. But not enough guests showed up.
Temer and his lawyers are questioning the veracity of the audio recording. Much of it – prosecution exhibit number one in the biggest legal case on the continent – is barely audible. An expert commissioned by Temer’s lawyers says the tape has been edited and is “inadmissible as evidence”.
But nothing in the Temer saga can top the sight of congressman Rodrigo Rocha Loures, a presidential aide, running from a pizza restaurant parking lot to a taxi in Sao Paulo with a suitcase containing 500 000 reais (almost R2 million) allegedly given to him by a contact from Batista’s company.
In another twist, police lost track of the cash until Loures brought it in. He says he didn’t know what was in the bag.
For many depressed Brazilians, laughter is the best revenge. But the best quip came from House of Cards Twitter account. “It’s hard to compete.” – AFP