Rue, cursed leaf

Rodolfo Borges, from Brasília - Since becoming involved in the Democrats' Mensalão scandal and leaving the government of the Federal District, José Roberto Arruda (former DEM member) has become a nuisance, tarnishing everything he touches. This is the exact opposite of what a rue leaf does (which supposedly has the power to ward off evil spirits and the evil eye). This time, the victim is district deputy Chico Leite, the first member of the Workers' Party to be mentioned by the former governor as a participant in the scheme of irregularities that triggered the crisis in the Brasília government at the end of last year. Arruda, who has become a kind of inverted Midas, has already mentioned the president of the DEM, José Agripino Maia, the mayor of São Paulo, Gilberto Kassab (who is leaving the DEM), and the leader of the DEM in the Federal Chamber, ACM Neto, forcing them all to give public explanations. In a recent interview with Veja magazine, Arruda also implicated Senators Demóstenes Torres (DEM-GO) and Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), and Federal Deputy Ronaldo Caiado (DEM-GO) in the irregularities he is accused of.

In his testimony to the court, Arruda accuses Chico Leite of soliciting money for his Senate campaign, which ultimately failed. “I had several meetings at his house (former Attorney General of the Federal District Leonardo Bandarra, accused of demanding R$ 1,6 million from Durval Barbosa, the whistleblower in the scheme), always at his invitation. I would say three or four. I remember two very well. One, where Congressman Chico Leite was asking for campaign money,” Arruda declared to the court. “Chico Leite made a series of criticisms of his party, the internal divisions, in short, that he wanted to run for Senate and for that he needed media coverage and campaign money,” says the former governor.

To escape Arruda's accusations, Chico Leite has already submitted a request to the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District asking for an investigation against himself and waiving his bank and tax secrecy. “I'm impressed. He thinks he can deceive the population to try to return to public life for the third time (Arruda resigned from his Senate seat in 2001 after violating the Senate's electronic voting system). He's a habitual liar,” Leite told Brasil 247. According to the congressman, Arruda is trying to get revenge and discredit his accuser, since Leite was the rapporteur for Arruda's impeachment process in the Legislative Chamber. The PT leader in the Federal District Chamber, Chico Vigilante, said he trusts his colleague, but stated in a press release that the case will be investigated.

Democrats

Dissatisfied at being abandoned by his party colleagues, Arruda accuses them of asking him for help in obtaining money. According to the former governor, Agripino Maia requested R$ 150 for the campaign of his candidate Micarla de Souza (PV) for mayor of Natal. “Senator Demóstenes approached me once, asking me to hire a company within the government to collect overdue bills. Deputy Ronaldo Caiado, another who was relentless with me, brought me a businessman from the transportation sector who wanted to secure routes in Brasília,” said the former governor. Involved by Arruda among those who requested his help when he was governor, ACM Neto said that “Arruda harbors hatred and resentment for those who helped expel him from the DEM party for not agreeing with the mensalão [monthly payment scheme] he sponsored.”