Senator breaks decorum by helping Bolivian escape.

247 - Judging by his participation and resourcefulness in the escape plot of Bolivian Senator Roger Pinto Molina from La Paz to Corumbá (MS) and then to Brasília, Senator Ricardo Ferraço (PMDB-ES), president of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, broke all standards of decorum for the position.

He was the most senior figure in the execution of Molina's escape plan to Brazil, devised by diplomat Eduardo Sabóia, chargé d'affaires of the Brazilian embassy in La Paz.

Ferraço arranged for a borrowed plane, the origin of which he has not yet revealed, picked up Molina at the Corumbá airport and took him to Brasília. Beforehand, he had met with the Bolivian senator twice at the Brazilian embassy. Ferraço knew all the circumstances of the case.

With 20 ongoing legal proceedings in Bolivia, including charges of corruption and participation in the country's drug trafficking scheme, Molina had his arrest ordered by the government of President Evo Morales. In 2011, to escape prison, he took refuge in the Brazilian embassy in La Paz, where he remained for 455 days until he was clandestinely removed by Sabóia.

"I AM A CRITIC OF ITAMARATY" In this process, Ferraço said he had contact with him twice and felt sorry for his situation. Medical evaluations pointed to severe depression with suicidal tendencies. But the Brazilian senator has already stated that, in addition to the so-called humanitarian issues, he also acted politically.

"I am critical of the lack of decisiveness in Brazilian diplomacy in this case," the Brazilian senator told journalist Josias de Souza of the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper. "Our diplomacy is sometimes too much of a buddy to our Bolivarian neighbors."

Without sharing his concerns with anyone, Ferraço assessed, decided, and acted as if he were an executive authority when participating in Sabóia's plan. The difference is that he wasn't following the law. What Ferraço did is similar to a hypothetical situation where someone convicted by the Brazilian justice system, but taking refuge in the Bolivian embassy in Brasília, relies on the help of a Bolivian politician to clandestinely reach a place he considers safe.

Zé Dirceu - To make it clearer: if José Dirceu, once convicted by the Supreme Court, were to flee to an embassy and, from there, in an escape planned by diplomats, still manage to gain political support upon arriving in another country, would that deserve applause in Brazil? 

Diplomat Sabóia, defending his plan, maintains that he feared Molina's suicide, who was confined to the Brazilian mission for 455 days. Even so, Sabóia could be expelled from the diplomatic service for insubordination. With Ferraço on the Foreign Relations Committee, a similar measure could be taken, otherwise the international community's trust in this Senate body would be broken.

WHAT IF IT WERE IN WASHINGTON? One might wonder if diplomat Sabóia and Senator Ferraço would display the same courageous performance if a refugee in the same circumstances of depression were in the Brazilian embassy in Washington. Would the pair of Brazilians show such determination for "humanitarian reasons," or would the predictable fear of creating a scandal with the most powerful nation in the world, with all its consequences, prevail?

In response to the legal proceedings against him, Senator Molina accuses Evo Morales' government of having ministers linked to drug trafficking and, because he is in the opposition, of suffering political persecution. This allegation is very similar to that of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange when he sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. According to Assange, the British authorities handed him over to the Swedish government, where he is accused of rape, and they will then send him to the United States. Finally, there, he would be prosecuted for espionage and would face a completely political trial, with a possible sentence of decades. To escape this fate, Assange has been in the Ecuadorian embassy since June 19, 2012. And there is no indication that he will leave anytime soon, since the British authorities are determined to keep him under arrest.

Like Assange now, and Molina before his escape, there are cases of refugees in embassies around the world who only managed to get a resolution to their cases, with imprisonment or freedom, after five years of transitional status.

Dilma's awkward situation The Bolivian government, in relation to Molina, acted in the same way that England did with Assange, not granting the senator the safe-conduct requested by the Brazilian government, which decided to accept him as an exile, without, however, managing to bring him legally to Brazil. The diplomat Sabóia and Senator Ferraço decided to take justice into their own hands and brought Molina clandestinely. Perhaps, why not?, they will one day want to do the same in relation to Assange and others. Ferraço, remember, was directly interested in the case of the Corinthians fans imprisoned in Oruro, also in Bolivia, whom he visited more than once. Before the diplomatic solution that brought them back to Brazil, could Ferraço, for humanitarian reasons, have considered a radical alternative like the one executed in favor of Molina?

Between imaginary and real cases, what is certain is that a diplomat and a senator of the Republic have created a very awkward situation for President Dilma Rousseff and the Brazilian government. They will gain prominence in the world media due to the ridiculous situation. As for the president, she has no alternative, given what has been done, but to accept, should it be formulated, the expected extradition request for Molina by the Bolivian authorities. Outside the law or agreements, the alternative is always illegality.