According to Gilmar, "mensalão and petrolão" have the same root.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes stated that the Mensalão scandal and the Petrobras corruption cases investigated by Operation Lava Jato share the same root: "It seems to me that there is a common root for both the Mensalão phenomenon and this so-called Petrolão, and now Eletrolão, and however many more may come. It seems to me that there is the same matrix, it's a way of governing, it's a governance model. And that's what's problematic in this whole story," he said.
247 - Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes stated that the Mensalão scandal and the corruption cases at Petrobras investigated by Operation Lava Jato share the same root. He further stated that the connections between the two demonstrate corruption as a "system of government, as a way of organizing public administration."
Gilmar Mendes said he considers it "shocking" that the corruption model developed at Petrobras is the same one used to buy political support in Congress, which resulted in the conviction of members of the PT's leadership in the so-called mensalão scandal.
The statement by the STF minister was made this Tuesday (4), one day after the Federal Police arrested former minister José Dirceu again, who had been convicted in Criminal Action 470 and was serving his sentence under house arrest. According to investigators from Operation Lava Jato, Dirceu continued to receive bribes even after being convicted by the STF.
"It seems to me that there is a common root for both the mensalão phenomenon and this so-called petrolão, and now eletrolão, and however many more come. It seems to me that there is the same matrix, it's a way of governing, it's a model of governance. And that's what's problematic in this whole story," he said.
"I think it's something truly unimaginable in scale. Corruption as a system of government, as a way of organizing the administration, is truly unthinkable," he emphasized.