NEWS IN ENGLISH – Ethics committee in Chamber of Deputies shelves motion against deputy

18/07/2012 10:37

Heloisa Cristaldo    Reporter Agência Brasil

Brasília – The Ethics Committee in the Chamber of Deputies (“Conselho de Ética e Decoro Parlamentar da Câmara dos Deputados”) has decided not to take action (“arquivar”) on motions against deputy João Carlos Bacelar (PR-BA) that accused him of nepotism (“nepotism cruzado”), the irregular use (“utilização irregular”) of a parliamentary secretary and improper negotiations (“negociação escusa”) with an employee.

 [Nepotism cruzado (also known as “designações recíprocas”) is where deputy A’s relatives are employed by deputy B whose relatives are employed by deputy A. Utilização irregular is usually having someone on the congressional payroll do tasks that have no relation to legislative activities. Negociação escusa with employees can be any number of obscure relations]

However, the most serious charge against Bacelar was wheeling and dealing with congressional earmarks (“emendas parlamentares”). The accusation that he was buying and selling earmarks was based on a report in the O Globo newspaper that in turn was based on recorded conversations in which Bacelar’s ex-wife described the scheme.

The vote in the Ethics Committee took place with 15 out of the 21 members present. Eleven deputies voted in favor of not taking action against Bacelar.

Allen Bennett – translator/editor The News in English

Link - Conselho de Ética da Câmara arquiva representação contra deputado João Carlos Bacelar