BRAZIL: MINES AND ENERGY MINISTER SILAS RONDEAU RESIGNS AMID ACCUSATIONS OF CORRUPTING RURAL ELECTRIFICATION PROGRAM.
The Cabinet of Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva lost another member in a scandal in May. Allegations of corruption in a public-works program to provide rural areas with electricity forced Mines and Energy Minister Silas Rondeau to step down, although he denied any wrongdoing. The head of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, also faced pressure to quit after revelations surfaced that he had taken cash in exchange for favoring a construction firm.
Police arrest dozens over construction bribes
Rondeau resigned May 22 amid accusations he was bribed by a construction company that obtained contracts to provide electricity to poor rural areas in a program Lula has championed. Rondeau, who was in charge of Lula's Luz Para Todos (Lights for Everyone) program, said in a statement he was stepping down to prevent the controversy from hurting the government's push to bring energy to the poor.
In a statement issued late May 23, Rondeau insisted on his "absolute innocence in relation to the accusations levied against me." In his letter of resignation, the minister said he wanted to reaffirm his complete and absolute innocence, and he complained about "cruel lies" and insinuations that had wounded his honor.
The country's Justice Minister Tarso Genro said there was no proof to directly implicate his ministerial colleague in the wrongdoing.
Brazilian media have reported that Rondeau accepted US$50,000 to steer a contract to the Gautama construction company as part of a much larger scheme involving government money being siphoned off through fraudulent bidding on public projects that were overcharged or never built.
Surveillance video aired on national TV showed an employee of the company delivering a package, which police believe contained money, to one of Rondeau's key ministerial aides.
Federal police allege the bid-rigging and corruption involved hundreds of millions of dollars, with much of the money funneled for infrastructure improvements from Brazil's Ministries of Planning, Transportation, and Energy and Mines.
Authorities said government officials who helped steer the contracts to the gang were paid off in cash and gifts such as luxury cars. Police arrested almost 50 suspects on suspicion of taking money from government contracts the week before Rondeau's resignation, including a congressman, a former governor, several mayors and ex-mayors, and several high-level state and federal employees.
The police investigation, called Operacao Navalha...
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