Brazilian justice: Prolonged or denied?

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The failure of Brazil to hold errant politicians and other power brokers accountable for alleged wrongdoing is a source of constant exasperation.

‘Who, in this country, having money, a good lawyer and some political power, goes to jail?’ asks commentator Ricardo Noblat on his O Globo blog. ‘Pure cynicism.’

The strange case of veteran lawmaker Ronaldo Cunha Lima underscores the problem, say critics.

Congressman Cunha Lima resigned his post Wednesday, days before his scheduled trial in the Supreme Court for the shooting of a political rival 14 years ago, reports Folha de S. Paulo. In his resignation letter, he spoke high-mindedly of his desire to “strip myself of my privileges to claim, simply as a citizen, responsibility for episodes that were particularly painful in a past that’s already remote in time, but still too present in my life and my conscience, ‘ reports O Globo.

So was this a case of justice triumphant, albeit delayed? No way, say skeptics, who doubt the ex-lawmaker will ever face trial.

“This man maneuvered and used all possible procedural tricks for 14 years to evade trial,’ said Supreme Court Justice Joaquim Barbosa. ‘His act mocks Brazilian justice in general and the Supreme Court in particular.’

The case now reverts to courts in the northeastern state of Paraíba, where Cunha Lima, now 71 and in ailing health, was governor when he shot his opponent. He has denied wrongdoing, saying he fired in self-defense. The current governor? Cunha Lima’s son.

Posted by Marcelo Soares in São Paulo and Patrick J. McDonnell in Buenos Aires