Calmon: Changes to AP 470 would be frustrating.

Lourenço Canuto
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Brasilia - Minister Eliana Calmon, of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), said she believes that the population, which "followed the entire process as if watching a soap opera, will be frustrated if the decisions of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) are not complied with by those convicted in Criminal Action 470, the mensalão trial." She said that, as a citizen, she will also be frustrated.

According to the minister, "the Supreme Court has gained public credibility with its decisions, which have created an expectation in Brazilian society regarding their enforcement. Therefore, the Supreme Court will have to give an explanation to the public as to whether its decisions are valid or not." The ministers of the Supreme Court, according to Eliana Calmon, "are experienced and have very strong political backing, guaranteed by the Constitution, which gives them absolute independence."

The Mensalão trial ended at the end of last year, with the conviction of 25 of the 37 defendants accused of participating in a corruption scheme during the first term of then-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The minister also expressed her opposition to the approval of the Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC 37), which removes the Public Prosecutor's Office's authority to investigate. She believes that the change "would harm the current process of combating corruption in the country, which involves government bodies such as the Comptroller General of the Union and the Federal Court of Accounts."

Edited by: Beto Coura