"The mensalão scandal came to light because of the PT's transparency."

Bahia 247

On the eve of his 87th birthday (next June 21st), 60 of which have been dedicated to party politics, former Defense Minister, former Senator and former Governor Waldir Pires (PT) assesses the repercussions of the wave of popular demonstrations that swept Brazil last June and comments on the slush fund case from the 2004 campaign, which became known as the mensalão and is considered by the opposition to be 'the biggest corruption scandal in the country's history'.

Unlike the hypocritical moralists, Waldir, who is currently a city councilor in Salvador, believes that the case only came to light precisely because the government of former President Lula opened the doors to transparency by offering information to the public freely.

"The Mensalão scandal came to light because of this transparency. Transparency today gives access to everything. The PT has a gigantic opportunity to look at the past and see what it can recover regarding public morality and the application of public money. It [PT] was born this way, destined to be a party focused on the application of public money and the recruitment of talent, public tenders, and the organization of a competent state. We will not have democracy as long as we do not have a competent state."

Waldir Pires criticized, in an interview with CBN Salvador radio, the large number of political parties in Brazil and the creation of new ones, which, according to him, "hinders" democracy. "We must prevent the deterioration of the electoral process. The party manages to convey to the population an idea of ​​its objectives, whether from the right or the left."