00:14In an election year, as the U.S. government spreads chaos around the world, Brazil is
00:20experiencing a back-to-the-future moment as a corruption scandal that originated during
00:25the Jair Bolsonaro presidency is being weaponized by the conservative media to target the Supreme
00:31Court and by proxy the Lula administration.
00:34Critics say that it reminds them of the now disgraced Operation Car Wash.
00:41I think Brazil is experiencing a new type of Operation Car Wash.
00:45Operation Car Wash began in March, during the 2014 election year.
00:50What a coincidence that this is now starting in March during an election year.
00:55Car Wash was an anti-corruption investigation orchestrated by the U.S. Department of Justice
01:00and a local judge from Curitiba who had ties to the U.S. intelligence community.
01:04It was used to justify the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and the 2018 arrest of Lula da Silva
01:11opening the door for the election of Jair Bolsonaro, who appointed Car Wash Judge Sergio
01:16Moro as his Justice Minister.
01:18All charges against both ex-presidents were later dropped for lack of evidence.
01:23Law furtends to follow a script.
01:26It begins with selectivity, with actions aimed at specific targets creating a narrative of
01:32guilt before the right of due process is guaranteed.
01:35There is a second step of media pressure, which is very important, and public exposure, which
01:41functions as a kind of parallel court system and ends up with delegitimizing political actors
01:47and institutions.
01:51Federal police have arrested one of Jair Bolsonaro's biggest campaign donors, former Banco Master
01:57President Daniel Vorcaro, for defrauding investors of billions of reais.
02:02They've shown evidence that he pressured Bolsonaro's central bank to cancel an audit.
02:06Dozens of right-wing politicians are tied up in the scandal, but the media is focusing on
02:10the fact that the wife of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Morales, who oversaw the investigation
02:16resulting in Bolsonaro's imprisonment, provided legal counsel to Banco Master.
02:20There are selective leaks not authorized by the judiciary, virtual lynchings of people
02:25who do not even have the right to know what they are being accused of, or the ability to
02:30defend themselves.
02:31There are leaks attempting to create turbulence in the market, leaks with political purposes
02:37in an election year.
02:38All of this shows that Brazil continues to experience situations similar to car wash, and that we
02:45haven't learned from our mistakes, and worse, that we haven't learned from the disastrous consequences
02:50caused by these mistakes.
02:55Brazil's presidential elections will take place on October 4th.
02:59Brian Mir, TELASUR, RICIFE.
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