PSDB revives the past and puts pressure on Cunha.
The party is providing information to its members on the Cachoeira CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) regarding the alleged partisan stance of rapporteur Odair Cunha; he is accused of protecting his party and persecuting figures such as Governor Marconi Perillo, a move that could result in the drafting of two reports; members of the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) are reviving the airfare scandal.
The PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) is increasing pressure on federal deputy Odair Cunha (PT-MG), rapporteur of the Cachoeira Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry in Congress, accusing him of leading the commission to achieve partisan objectives. Strategically, the PSDB has sought to expose the contradictions of the PT (Workers' Party), stating that the party most to fear from the investigations and trials taking place in the country is Lula's own party. In direct confrontation with Odair, the PSDB is resorting to the accusation that he paid for international tourism for friends using airfare allowances from the Chamber of Deputies.
The opposition in the CPI finds it strange that Odair, while praising the performance of the Federal Police, is forced to avoid any insinuation that the PT is included in the investigations and that his party is involved. The most notorious case cited by the PSDB is the so-called 'Cuiabá Dossier', which would reveal the resurgence in 2012 of the PT's tactic of trying to destroy the reputation of its adversaries.
The dossier compiled falsified documents to harm Geraldo Alckmin and José Serra in 2006. At the time, they were candidates for president of the Republic and governor of São Paulo, respectively, and were the party's targets. Today, this strategy would target the governor of Goiás, Marconi Perillo, one of the politicians who denounced the mensalão scandal. At the time, unfortunately for the group, the Federal Police acted quickly. Even so, there are questions about whether the government tried in every way to protect the PT members.
Tourism
The PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) accuses Odair of engaging in international tourism at the expense of the Federal Chamber and of using his allowance to pay for airfare for friends. A member of the Board of Directors at the time of the incident, Odair used his allowance to assist his friend Geraldo Silva, who traveled from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro. In 2008, the rapporteur issued two other tickets for former minister Nilmário Miranda. The PSDB will request an investigation in the Chamber, as it suspects that other similar situations may have occurred but have not yet been detected.
Odair is not the only one to travel at the expense of public funds. João Paulo Cunha (PT-SP) and Inocêncio Oliveira (PR-PE), former presidents of the Chamber of Deputies, also enjoyed 'public' travel expenses. In July 2008, at the height of the investigations into the Mensalão scandal, in which he is involved, Cunha, his wife, and daughter went skiing in Bariloche, Argentina.
Inocêncio used plane tickets for his wife, two daughters, and granddaughter to take a tour of New York and Europe between August and December 2007. Leandro Sampaio, the alternate third secretary, allegedly used plane tickets to finance trips for family members to Chile, Buenos Aires, and a short trip to Germany.
Two reports
Odair's handling of the work is close to collapsing the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry). His internal and external actions threaten to politically fracture the already divided commission, to the point that the drafting of two final reports is already being projected: one by him and another by independent members and the opposition to the government. This prediction is the subject of a full-page report in yesterday's edition of the newspaper Valor Econômico. "Of the more than 130 politicians from all political spheres that the Banestado CPI supposedly targeted, none were caught," notes journalist Caio Junqueira. "The Cachoeira CPI may follow the same path, with its two reports."
The comparison between the two Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry (CPIs) makes perfect sense. With a strong presence of members from both the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) and the PT (Workers' Party), during the investigations conducted between 2003 and 2004, the Banestado CPI aimed to investigate illegal schemes for transferring money abroad, uncovering hundreds of suspects of illegal activities in over 412 financial transactions through the Bank of the State of Paraná. In the end, two reports were presented, one by politicians linked to the PT, and another representing the PSDB. The fact is, nobody was arrested.
Sought for comment by 247 in Brasília, rapporteur Odair Cunha has not yet responded to interview requests.