FHC suggests Dilma undergo "self-examination".

247 - In response to President Dilma Rousseff's statements that the corruption scheme involving construction companies providing services to Petrobras began in 1996, former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who was in office at the time, said this Friday (20) that "instead of trying to cover up her responsibilities," Dilma "should do a self-examination" about alleged mistakes she made in managing the construction company.

The former president, a member of the PSDB party, also said in a statement distributed by the FHC Institute that Dilma was "careless" in not refusing to buy the Pasadena refinery in the US when she chaired the board of directors of Petrobras.

"The most excellent President of the Republic should be more careful and, instead of trying to cover up her responsibilities by shifting them onto me, who has nothing to do with the case, examine her conscience and admit that she was at least careless in not refusing the purchase of the Pasadena refinery and wait more calmly for the accusations against her government and her predecessor to be investigated."

Below is the full text of FHC's statement. 

Until now, apart from lamenting the tsunami-like nature of corruption in the "Petrolão" case, I have not offered opinions on who is guilty or responsible, awaiting the results of the investigations and the justice system. Since the President herself has joined the defensive propaganda campaign, accepting the infamous tactic of the old joke about the pickpocket who puts his hand in the victim's pocket, steals, and then shouts "catch the thief!", I am forced to react:

1. The whistleblower to whom the President referred was explicit in his statements to the Justice system. He said that the bribes received before 2004 were obtained through a direct agreement between him and his briber; only from Lula's government onwards did corruption, he says, become systematic. How can anyone serious hold my government responsible for the improper conduct of an individual employee if no complaint was filed at the time?

2. Similarly, the testimony of the contractor from Setal Engenharia reaffirms that the cartel only became effective during Lula's government.

3. In the case of the Petrobras scandal, it is not a matter of individual misconduct by Petrobras employees, nor are they, the employees, mostly responsible. It is a systematic process involving the governments of President Dilma (who was also the president of the company's Board of Directors and Minister of Mines and Energy) and former President Lula. It was they, or their representatives at Petrobras, who appointed the company directors now accused of colluding with construction companies and, in the case of the PT (Workers' Party), with the party treasurer, with the purpose of diverting resources for their own or partisan benefit.

4. In light of this, the Most Excellent President of the Republic should exercise more caution and, instead of trying to cover up her responsibilities by shifting them onto me, who has nothing to do with the case, examine her conscience and acknowledge that she was at least negligent in not refusing to purchase the Pasadena refinery, and wait more calmly for the accusations against her government and that of her predecessor to be investigated.