LatinNews Daily Report - 23 October 2012

POLITICS| More rulings on Mensalão case. On 22 October two supreme court justices, Celso de Mello and Ayres Britto, ruled that the former leaders of the ruling Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), including the former party president, José Genoíno, the former party treasurer, Delúbio Soares, and the former minister of the presidency, José Dirceu (2003-2005), were all guilty of illicit association and responsible for the mensalão congressional bribery scheme that took place during the first term in office of former president Lula da Silva (2003-2010). De Mello and Britto were the last two of the ten supreme court judges to rule on that particular aspect of the case. Their rulings are in line with those of Chief Justice Joaquim Barbosa and three other justices. The defendants have already been found guilty of active corruption. Yesterday’s rulings serve as the latest blow for the PT, which continues to deny the existence of a bribery network among its members. The rulings up the pressure on the government, now led by President Dilma Rousseff, to conduct further investigations into the role that other prominent PT members - most notably Lula - may have played in the mensalão. Following the rulings on illicit association – the final issue on which the court was due to rule on – the judges are expected to issue their setence to the 25 people found guilty in the next few days.

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