Brazil's Corruption Scandal Grows Ever Nearer To Rousseff

Arrests and new charges further inflame the political crisis around Brazil’s president.

In a matter of days, the vast corruption probe known as Operation Carwash has moved closer than ever to Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff. On Feb. 22, Rousseff’s top campaign strategist, João Santana, was arrested for allegedly receiving $7.5 million, a sum tied to a bribery scheme at national oil company Petrobras, which is at the center of the scandal.

Then the magazine IstoE reported that the government’s former leader in the senate, Delcídio do Amaral, had alleged that Rousseff had pushed judges to release political allies imprisoned on charges of graft. The magazine said the senator, who faces charges of witness tampering, made the allegations as part of a possible plea bargain. Amaral declined to confirm any plea agreementor the details reported in the story.

On March 4, Federal Judge Sergio Moro had former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva detained for questioning about favors he and his family allegedly received. On March 9, a state prosecutor in São Paulo charged Lula with money laundering and hiding assets. He allegedly concealed ownership of an apartment renovated by a builder involved in the Petrobras scandal. Lula’s Instituto Lula says the former president denies owning the apartment and has done nothing illegal.

Rousseff, Petrobras’s former chairman, isn’t being investigated. She has denied any wrongdoing. Rousseff says her rivals want to seize power before the 2018 election. “There are certain political fights that create systemic problems not only for politics but for the economy,” she said on March 7 while inaugurating a housing project.