A country in freefall its people impoverished. Brazils young democracy is floundering. Half of the congress is being investigated by law by job and on the auto a Corruption Scandals a culture of graft and corruption has taken hold extending all the way into the highest ranks of government. Many brazilians have taken to the streets calling down with ten that. I will not step down. Now they have no shot a small team of courageous prosecutors has taken up the fight against corruption for ordinary brazilians they are the new heroes of democracy. The biggest Anti Corruption investigation in the history of brazil and the word of my. As i thought it was. The investigation has been dubbed lava shot to operation car wash brazils powerful elites are doing everything in their power to derail it. They get a its basically a war between investigators and the politicians so far the investigators have refused to be deterred him to make them here all five of us. The investigation has reached the very highest levels from the current president to former president s. Because you do you want these investigate as a young people who believe in the messiah and believe they must save the wood from a full day understand nothing of politics knowing they may not be pulling. It all began and discordant every looking gas station in brasilia the capital of brazil its also where the name of the investigation lava shot to a car wash comes from this gas station was at the center of an alleged bribery and Money Laundering scheme that supplied the countrys elite for years. To see guns in the gas station also features live music a snack bar and a Laundry Service thats opened late into the night but its the Corruption Scandal thats made it famous all of us on the lovers jato investigations have destroyed off faith in the government theyve shown this opposition is only interested in filling their pockets this is a Mental Illness well its chaos president a man has to. Go politically on not on the left on the right we need new elections true democracy is the solution the people must decide who they want it should be off a dozen rich and powerful people calling the shots and up i may do is it quote on a. Day by carlos aviv chahta the owner of the gas station was the first person to end up behind bars he spent two years in prison on charges of Money Laundering now on day release hes back at his gas station. And the love of jato investigations are hurting us they obscure the fact that we do a lot of honest work here i dont like that my gas station is now linked to this scandal. But the investigators stumbled on carlos chahta almost by chance they were on the trail of a small ring of money launderers as part of a routine operation they monitor charges mobile phone thats how they found out that the gas station was doing double duty as a kind of a. T. M. For brazilians corrupt political elite at the center was a dollar later a man who obtained u. S. Dollars on the black market and organized kickbacks. Of a jihad all battle yousif lent me money when the time came to pay him back he told me who i should give the money to but i never gave it to politicians only to drive us to show foods i never knew who the money was intended for the east as you know said it would be still in this egypt when all better use of was arrested and realized he could end up behind bars for years he decided to name names what you separate deals rocked the investigators to their core it was a story of political intrigue and corruption rivaling anything thats ever come out of hollywood. Delta and ellen youre all a lead. Prosecutor in operation car wash was appalled well the last time we already knew that brazil was riddled with corruption. Knowing that a monster exists is one thing but looking enough money in the face is Something Else it was shocking use facets of what. Investigators uncovered and insidious web of bribes and backroom agreements. At first the investigators were astonished at how deeply the countrys political and Business Elite were implicated in the dealings. S. L. But also into its the biggest Anti Corruption investigation in the history of brazil and the world were talking about repayment obligations thats unprecedented or the bash the best cain cities repayments on the largest that have ever been in couldnt a corruption trial so in terms one of potus. The repayments and fines incurred by politicians and Corporate Executives embroiled in the investigation already total some three billion euros. A scandal has revealed how the countrys political elite have for years fed at the trough of corruption and enrich themselves. Just as the sheer scale of the Corruption Scandal is what has shaken brazil to its core there are more than five hundred members of parliament and two thirds of them are under investigation for corruption and obstruction of justice being beheaded the former president of the chamber of deputies one of the states highest representatives has been sentenced on charges of corruption i think thats. The trail from the gas station in brasilia soon led investigators to petro bus a semipublic petroleum multinational brazils Biggest Company it is at the heart of the scandal. Investigators netted a particularly big fish early on marcello or developed c. E. O. Of a Major Construction conglomerate that set up his own Bribery Division its slush fund paid hundreds of millions of euros in bribes to politicians and Political Parties. Were. I dont know of a single brazilian politician who was elected without money at best some might claim to have. Been unaware of that in the final analysis though the Campaign Funds they received from their party also came from these illegal accounts this is how it works in brazil its a vicious circle at a Movie Theater with real. Or depression is the principal witness in the Corruption Scandal and his testimony has struck fear into the heart of brazils political elite hes been sentenced to ten years in prison. His construction conglomerate also wreaked huge profits from the world cup and the summer Olympic Games for instance during the renovation of the maracana stadium. But why is corruption and demick in brazil. And why was corruption tacitly accepted and regarded as normal for so long. Its our Colonial Heritage this was a country where exploitation was the norm it was always has always been like that a pact between economic elite and the political elite these only garcon facts this was always the norm so its perhaps lava shot is the first time that we have a shake a big shake on this oligarchic back. Centuries of back room deals among brazils elites gave rise to a political culture in which self enriching corruption was the norm. To see inzy he elected officials in brazil dont primarily regard themselves as representatives of the people of the peoples interests as focus often although not always the primary motivation for going into politics and standing for election is the quest for privilege and of course for wealth for financial benefits what. However the corruption unearthed in the lava shuttle scandal was unprecedented even for brazil it worked like a well oiled machine. First and foremost the network of corruption served to keep the ruling parties in power they used the slush funds to finance their election campaigns in exchange political operatives were given executive posts with Public Companies like the oil company path rip us these executives then saw to it that inflated contracts were awarded to a cartel of the biggest Construction Firms in brazil headed by odebrecht it was fraud according to clearly defined rules each Construction Firm paid three percent of the contracts value into a slush fund some of the. Backs went straight to the ruling parties others flowed to money launderers delayed rows and then on to petro bras executives and influential politicians. Many brazilians feel they no longer recognize their own country. They are no longer willing to accept corruption as a fact of life and turn a blind eye to the fact that their politicians are for sale and. They are refusing to accept the old by word of robot must fight he steals but he gets things done. As well as on a gang of five people used to say that a lot but over the course of the lava jato investigation these past three years its died out these days i no longer run across any brazilian who Still Believes in this saying no instead much of the population no longer accepts this or obama this faffed this corruption in politics. As antigovernment demonstrations grew increasingly vehement president michelle to man deployed troops in brasilia to defend government buildings against protests the move rekindled memories of brazils military dictatorship which ended in one nine hundred eighty five new revelations in the Corruption Scandal emerged on an almost daily basis. Along with the hundreds of deputies under investigation the scandal has also implicated a majority of senators eight cabinet ministers and the president himself now and i shall not step down i repeat i shall not sit down. That way and i thought he would step down but he refused our country is going crazy its a political war. With an Approval Rating of less than five percent michel to man it is now regarded as the most unpopular president in the countrys history in two thousand and seventeen brazils prosecutor general accused of being the head of an enormous machinery of corruption the indictment was based on secret recordings of meetings with the president and on testimony of top executives seeking immunity from prosecution. As its links mean this is now far more than a Corruption Scandal its a system wide crisis and brazils and tire political system is infected. One solution could be if the Political Parties cleaned house but they show no signs of any willingness to do so and so again. Instead the countrys political elite is using every means at its disposal in its fight for survival instead a pact with a parliamentary majority in the National Congress is keeping michele to med in office. In momentum take the at the moment the coalition is supporting him partly because many of the deputies are sitting in the same boat maybe theyre hoping this will allow them to survive unscathed till the end of the legislative period in late two thousand and eighteen to quote. The president is fortunate that brazils constitution provides him with special protection a two thirds majority vote in the chamber of deputies is required for to mayor to stand trial while in office to mayors opponents have fallen well short of this Majority Party everything. Was going to. Investigators have meanwhile seized boxes of cash following a trail that leads all the way to Close Associates of the president but the impasse remains some of to mayors Political Associates have even been caught with suitcases full of money brazils. Parliament has shrugged it off. Only a handful of deputies seem interested in putting an end to the corruption one of the best known is a lesson that all malone for fifteen years he belonged to the Workers Party of former president luis industrial Lula Da Silva which is deeply implicated in the lava shuttle scandal two years ago molon switched to the asia Sustainability Network a center left Environmentalist Party now as part of a Congressional Justice Committee he is fighting for greater honesty in politics. The confidence in the government is diminishing day by day the country and Congress Need a new an incumbent president who is not facing such a serious indictment that im just for the time being though brazils government remains deeply divided several attempts to start impeachment proceedings against the president or to put him on trial have failed even though judges and Public Prosecutors have presented substantial evidence against him. I know vide about one another round in the protracted attempt to impeach to met the Congressional Justice Committee is discussing whether the accusations put forward by the judiciary are serious enough to warrant charges against the president and so the decision about whether action can be taken against a politician is in the hands of politicians themselves for going to have got. So far however brazils political elite have maintained a united front they want to put an end to investigations that could further expose the widespread corruption and theyre preparing legislation that could threaten overeager Public Prosecutors with prosecution themselves and they want and and the city for the illicit funding thats flowed to Political Parties. The judges and Public Prosecutors who are under siege are counting on Popular Support so far mass protests have been able to shield Judicial Authority against political attack the next general elections in brazil are scheduled for october two thousand and eighteen but many ordinary brazilians dont want to wait that long and are demanding that elections be brought forward theyve received support from local artists like the tunnel below so and milton nutsy mental the yearning for a fresh start is strong. Much of their hope rests on the lamas shuttle task force the investigation has even served as inspiration for a feature film for Many Brazilians the lava shot to investigators are the true heroes of democracy. Thought they had one of their story is tailor made for a film. But theres no end to it something new emerges every day you could say the script was written by the real life players and then more creative than we could ever be thought is always the g. O. P. One of the heroes of the investigation is federal judge sanders you know morrow who is widely regarded as relentless and incorruptible moto has issued lengthy prison sentences for a remove politicians and billionaires who until recently were deemed untouchable judge morrow and the lava shot to investigators are based in goody chiba in southeastern brazil the city has built its reputation on its modern Public Transportation system and Environmental Policies and now on its anticorruption squad travel agents even offer a lava shot to a tours. First stop the Public Prosecutors office. Prison is also a popular tourist attraction its where numerous politicians and. Entrepreneurs are doing hard time the local saying too rich to jail no longer holds true. This is where theyre being softened up wealthy captains of industry and political leaders accustomed to a life of luxury here including tiba far from their families they spend the chilly nights cooped up three to a cell the goal is to get them to turn states evidence and give testimony against their accomplices who are still on the loose. Even the rich and powerful are forced to remain in prison while awaiting trial in the past they could post bail and remain free pending Court Proceedings now thats only possible for people who are prepared to cooperate with the investigation lawyers representing the accused say this is tantamount to blackmail. At this but he is the people being held here want to be released so they start to give statements they say all sorts of things things that never happened just to obtain their release or. Thats what we believe is wrong page dont. Just drop. The final stop on the quota tiva tour is the renowned Oscar Niemeyer museum some of the two hundred seventy works of art seized by the investigators is on display here they include a painting by cottle an artist shown. Going with ended up with police if he did i wish the federal police instructed us to exhibit the works and people are coming to see them theyre very curious my. At first a lot of them were shocked and appalled outraged almost that these works were bought with slush money for him to hit the people. Since. The exhibition is part of lava shot the strategy investigators want to generate as much publicity as possible as the best defense against political interference. Its a tactic that was employed to good effect in italy during the Anti Corruption investigations of the one nine hundred ninety s. Back then the money police or clean hands investigation rocked the country the money police the investigation also centered on kickbacks and political corruption judges and Public Prosecutors uncovered a nationwide network of bribery and graft and made it all public not Public Prosecutor until an e. O. Di pietro became a National Hero industrialists and politicians from nearly every Political Party were indicted they included socialist bit dino cuts and christian democrat gilleo under the o. T. Both of them former prime ministers in the end the italian political system collapsed paving the way for outsiders silvio berlusconi. Brazils judges and Public Prosecutors are also taking on the rich and powerful theyre investigating former president s luis in arceo Lula Da Silva and Dilma Rousseff both from the leftist Workers Party during their years in power corruption flourished in two thousand and sixteen Dilma Rousseff was accused of breaking budgetary laws she was impeached after Brazils Senate voted in favor of removing her from office in september two thousand and seventeen corruption charges were filed against rousseff. Love a shot to investigators have also kept her predecessor former president Lula Da Silva in their sights they regard him as the godfather of a wide ranging network of illegality designed to maintain hold on power charges that lula denies. Now a very bad looking step would be that ive that the real aim of this witch hunt is to prevent me from being reelected as president in two thousand and eighteen that they are trying to set up every possible and impossible legal beriah to prevent lula from standing us candidate in two thousand and eighteen that was really needed paula no fiqh and in fact im going to give. A former Union Activist and founder of the Workers Party lula believes hes the victim of a conservative conspiracy he says operation car wash is politically motivated and compares its investigators to religious fanatics. Defending misty what we are experiencing here is the author a tarion claim to power of a small group of Public Prosecutors and one judge these young people are fanatic in their belief that a responsibility for saving the world rests on their shoulders reporting they understand nothing is going to be pollute. Has effectively joined ranks with the campaign being waged against operation carwash by much of the political elite that stands accused of corruption. Their main target is federal judge center joe moto who they claim is politically motivated and exceeding his Judicial Authority. Most of lula supporters agree with the former president. Transparency international disagrees it is untrue i think judge moore is a brave judge i think hes doing the right thing is leading his work according to the law and he is going to be criticised by doughs that are being investigated and and prosecuted of course but if you take his decisions most of his decisions are being confirmed by the. Courts. E. C. The war hes doing hes very quiet he doesnt give interviews. In july twenty seventh teen former president Lula Da Silva was found guilty of corruption. A court of appeals upheld the conviction and increased his sentence from nine to twelve years. Lula remains free for now pending a possible appeal to brazils highest court and the outside chance that his verdict will be overturned. Will see only its a sign that there is justice in brazil and that no one not even an expresident is above the law anyways thanks to. The conviction notwithstanding lula remains the countrys most popular politician under his tenure from two thousand and three to two thousand and twelve brazil enjoyed years in which the price of petroleum and other Raw Materials hit record highs during those years brazil became the worlds fifth largest economy unemployment and poverty fell dramatically but the boom was built on shaky ground. This capsule it was even predicted that brazil would soon overtake germany as an economic power if the collapse of Commodity Prices played a major role but it wasnt the only reason this never happened the main cause was the mistake made by the leftist government primarily Lula Da Silva and the Workers Party that they should have used the boom years to institute important Structural Reforms so not so. When the price of crude oil and other Raw Materials collapsed it spell the end for lulas model the social welfare state financed by commodity revenues the brazilian economy was plunged into a deep crisis. Rio de janeiro has been particularly hard hit the city had hoped that it would reap enormous benefits from the world cup and the summer Olympic Games but that never materialized the olympic park is deserted in twenty sixteen many olympic events took place here today its arenas are taking. Paolo melo is the president of brazils olympic governance Heritage Authority the plan to privatized the olympic venues has failed virtually nothing has gone according to plan not even the scheduled disassembly. Have to alice its a mall the sports hall was supposed to be dismantled and then reassembled in pots and full schools but the city of rio which is responsible for the project doesnt have the funds. Rio did derives some benefits from the games for example the modern light rail system the expansion of the Subway Network and the new express bus system but the expected tourist boom never materialized after the olympics the number of tourists coming to rio plummeted. By sound bassy Hotel Occupancy in rio now stands at only fourteen percent but they dont go tells are trying to adapt to this new reality by offering discounts rio is not only a beautiful city it also has a great deal of new infrastructure which was built for the Olympic Games to rio now has even more to offer tourists and as an even more favorable price. But the state of Rio De Janeiro is nearly bankrupt in two thousand and sixteen the iconic mada cannot stadium hosted the glamorous closing ceremony of the ill. Picked games today it lies in ruins the pitch is covered in weeds thousands of seats are missing football matches are a rare event the city seems to have washed its hands of the stadium. In front of the shuttered entrance marcio pele still hopes a tourist might stop by. Most football is finished its totally corrupt no one loves sports any more just money. Cash strapped rio has been left with huge debts much of rios political and economic elite and its Building Contractors ruthlessly lined their own pockets. Well the games they just brought more money to the system a rotten system already rotten by corruption and you only bring more field to the fire or you bring more money to a rotten system its residents called rio the sea dodgin much of the us the marvelous city but today it is sinking into poverty rios new poor survive on the streets many are trying to keep their heads above water as launching a Street Vendors like yai acosta who sells fruit in the copacabana district he lost his job as a cook more than a year ago that isnt what i want to many stores here in rio have had to close because of the crisis. Or theyve been forced to lay off most of the stuff you want to visit now i sell fruit on the street or ice cream on the beach. But when i say it up i saw. Homeless people arent every corner they live in deep poverty in two thousand and seventeen unemployment was the highest in decades with some fourteen million brazilians officially out of work but the true figure is much higher the economic decline has now reached virtually all segments of Society Real Estate agent clovis gomez is also feeling the pinch and the fiend in me along at the moment no one is buying or renting an apartment not even short term there are no prospects for improvement no light at the end of the tunnel no one can claim that the country is functioning normally so thats just not true. Congress is also in crisis nothings working as a chit not a phocion good gets out of it if youre going to be where youre going to be yeah you agrees on weekends he sells ice cream on the beach there are fewer and fewer tourists here instead most of the beach goers are cutting jocose as the people of rio are known a day at the beach is a respite from the crisis. Yeah i have cost is sick and tired of corrupt politicians who cheat the people who voted for them but even with the crisis he says one thing has improved the guilty are ending up behind bars when i was a child the rich never went to prison it was only ever blacks the poor and prostitutes not of the law applies to everyone its good that the nation is recovering the money that was stolen from it as well as its dignity so that children can have School Lunches and hospitals are supplied with medicines. In two thousand and sixteen the state of Rio De Janeiro declared a financial emergency several state hospitals have already closed at the time of filming this University Hospital was still open almost out of medicine and with only a handful of doctors. At this hour the Staff Members have shrunk. Many doctors no longer turn up for work because often they dont get paid and there is no food. The University Hospitals neurological unit is where Denise Santos used to work due to the lack of money and staff its been closed. From teachers to Civil Servants and Police Officers many have developed their own strategies to survive crowds of people wait patiently at Distribution Centers for emergency supplies of food and toiletries many here agree corruption is a big part of the reason why rio is struggling today which will be awful my governor is in prison as a result of numerous charges resulting from the lava jato operation and other investigations of course we see a direct link between that and whats happening here today i thought it out that. Since the Olympic Games crime of violence has soared clashes between the police. S. And drug gangs have escalated many Police Vehicles are unusable. The military deployed thousands of troops to Rio De Janeiro to help combat organized crime but thats done little to help. Alessandro malone from that rages Sustainability Network says for all intents and purposes the city is in a state of war as a congressional delegate malone lives in brasilia but hes a native of rio he says the brazilian government has not done enough to stem the violence will be able to put the government would rather use state funds to buy off congressional deputies in order to keep president from being put on trial the supreme to benefit they do that with the money instead of protecting peoples lives cannot put this on that fear that this decision. An hours drive from rio lies another lost dream. Compares is one of the single largest investment projects in brazils history the petrochemical complex commissioned by the pats robust spoil conglomerate listen never completed like so many other of band and projects its a symbol of the rise and steep fall of brazils economic fortunes. The nearby city of the top boat i was already being touted as the new capital of brazils oil miracle the mayor now says those promises were worthless. Well. A populist on the win tonight is he would you put people can no longer stomach these politicians with their empty promises that killing people rio is now brazils most violent federal state the love of job two investigations are very important its our opportunity to build an. New reality for ourselves as you watched it all my mother had it died. On tonio calos is a welder he came here eight years ago like tens of thousands of other workers he hoped to benefit from the coming boom. Calos gave us a tour of the city its abandoned a business district. Empty luxury apartments shuttered at high tech traffic lights above nearly empty streets. But i was out by about my troubles began with the lava jato investigations the judges forced petro brass to stop all construction work this is it of his thats when the layoffs began the crisis then took hold of the entire city but what i. What on twenty zero carlos doesnt mention is that this coincided with the steep drop in the price of crude oil and with it the fortunes of petro bras began to run dry for the Operation Carwash Task force that was of little concern petro process was brought to its knees over three years the oil conglomerate posted losses in the billions of dollars. Brazils future is under threat widespread corruption has depleted public funds and the cost of fighting this corruption is also high the federal government in brasilia has come to a near standstill the president and many of his ministers are devoting all their energy to defending themselves against the judiciary brazil is virtually paralyzed urgent reforms have been postponed ordinary citizens have less and less faith in their government. Many are resting their hopes on general elections scheduled for october two thousand and eighteen but Transparency International is skeptical. There is no assurance that what comes next is going to be better than what we have now the problem is that we havent developed. A political culture or an i read new off our political culture we havent three new of our Political Leadership we create these void and then whats going to fulfill it is populism outlawry tyrion ism and this back wall in this. Type of politics this type of politics could benefit brazils evangelical movement evangelicals are the countrys Fastest Growing religious group for some years the movement has been seeking an ever greater foothold in brazils Political Institutions many evangelicals believe the time is ripe for taking over the reins of government once anyone who governs in the name of god will always give their best for the children of god thats why we hope that our religious Parliamentary Group will gain in strength ill mention around a quarter of all brazilians now identify as evangelical in two thousand and sixteen and evangelical pastor was elected mayor of Rio De Janeiro brazil second largest city marcello cruella once described roman catholics as demons and he has called homosexuality a terrible evil most of his support comes from the residents of the huge favelas in the north of rio. I believe the forthcoming elections will change our countrys. A god fearing president will be a way forward for our nation and the souls that are. As and then we will be the fatherland of the gospel and once again in the worlds respect muscatine was good we believe that beginning in two thousand and eighteen a god fearing person will rule our country will gain them into their will very mount up by the. One of the leading contenders is right wing nationalist yeah you have both on audio who is also an evangelical hes currently polling second in the upcoming president ial elections many call him the brazilian donald trump. Theyre not going to do business there is. Even a military coup seems within the realm of the possible and army general has stated that if the political crisis is not resolved the military would consider overthrowing the government his statement was widely applauded on social media and by many of his colleagues. Beloved shuttle investigators are placing their faith in the people they know their operation can succeed on its own. Just a diet that i dont want to bore think it was me its all depends on the next elections people must vote for candidates who a not corrupt themselves and be committed to the fight against corruption so much this difficult to goes. Down well see the changes we need to function as a nation system because they can last because it was hopeless he starts on the prosecutors on the lava shot a task force see the remarkable success of their investigation as the first important step toward a more honest and better brazil and went about doing it up but they no political reforms are urgently necessary especially in combat in the corporate slush funds used to finance election campaigns at present though this seems unlikely. Former president luis inacio Lula Da Silva who was found guilty of corruption by two courts has a commanding lead in the polls he seems to be rolling the dice. Either prison or the presidency a Supreme Court decision will determine whether his sentence stands or whether he can continue his candidacy i feel vote that afic and if i stand in two thousand and eighteen i will win and prove that it is possible to liberate brazil from the situation of i cant believe there is only one way to achieve this through high incomes for the poor and mold jobs. That it going to face. Carlos chahta the man who set the law to shuttle scandal in motion does not believe that brazils culture of corruption can be ended so easily before he was arrested and jailed had run his gas station as a Money Laundering operation thats all in the past he promises the days of such brazen corruption are over if i convey i view my mortgage flava jato through a harsh light on corruption not new forms of bribery will be found unfortunately most of all it will be a long time before corruption in brazil is extinguished he had to tackle some of it as you. Might brazil still find a solution to its dilemma many powerful and corrupt elites have been indicted dozens are already in prison most ordinary brazilians are desperate for change and if they elect a new honest generation of politicians they could spark a sea change brazil could still reinvent itself and shed its long history of corruption right now the chances seem better for that than ever before. W. s program guide. Dot com highlights. Climate change. Waist length. Isnt it time for good. Eco africa people and projects that are changing no one far meant for the better its up to us to make a difference lets inspire the shuttle. Keep going to the firemen magazine the. Long d w. A muse alice believes shes not seeing the unsub. The goals of the socalled. Sucked into this kind simcoe side box was a. Place people had put big dreams on the big screen. A. Movie magazine on the dummy. Leg. On. The umbrella. The plane. This is good of you news live from berlin the opening salvos on a transatlantic trade war u. S. President called trump announces punitive on steel and aluminum imports triggering a promise from europe to respond in. The most sense the stock market plummeting also coming off. A gift trade two series of battles on plave of eastern well get the latest from the red cross as it struggles to gain access to those most in need. And it was an attack that sent shock waves around the world we take a look at how the florida school
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