Agência Brasil

Brasília - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that he is convinced that the alleged "mensalão" scheme did not exist. ["Mensalão" refers to a purported monthly allowance paid by the PT to members of allied parties in the Congress in exchange for voting support on measures of interest to the government]. "I am certain that there was no mensalão. This mensalão business reeks of Congressional folklore," he commented during the "Live Circuit" ["Roda Viva"] program, a TV Cultura production aired yesterday (7) on public television.

For the first time since taking office, Lula gave a collective interview to reporters on a television program. This was his tenth appearance on "Live Circuit," which is commemorating its one thousandth edition.

Lula said that he felt betrayed by the charges of corruption in his party, the PT. "I felt betrayed, because I know how much I fought for this party. The behavior of some of my companions did not square with that of the PT. In the history of humanity, easy money never did anybody any good. That is why I think I was betrayed," he affirmed. The president pointed out, however, that the party will succeed in reconstituting the image that has been tainted by the crisis. "I believe that the PT will recover the image it built over 20 years in the eyes of Brazilian society."

According to the president, ex-federal deputy Roberto Jefferson (PTB-RJ) was deprived of his parliamentary mandate for failure to substantiate the accusations he made about the mensalão. "Jefferson did a disservice to the nation. He raised doubts about everybody, without offering proof. Accusations should only be made if there exists proof," he said.

Lula also avowed that he defends ex-presidential chief of staff, José Dirceu, because there is no concrete charge against his former aide. "I support him, because I don't know what the accusation is against José Dirceu. The original contention referred to government funds in PT accounts, and up to now this hasn't been corroborated. I cannot regard these charges as true, because I would be committing an injustice," he affirmed. According to the president, Dirceu returned to the Chamber of Deputies to "cease being a display window for the opposition [to bombard]."

The questions posed by the reporters Augusto Nunes (columnist for the "Jornal do Brasil"), Rodolfo Konder, Matinas Suzuki (director of the "Bom Dia" newspaper chain), Roseli Tardeli (executive director of the AIDS News Agency), and Heródoto Barbeiro (editor in chief and broadcaster for the "Jornal da Cultura") were drawn from 1,500 e-mails sent in by viewers. The program was taped yesterday afternoon in the Planalto Palace.

Translation: David Silberstein