Uncomfortable solidarity
Last night, 150 members of the Workers' Party (PT) gathered to raise funds for José Genoíno, José Dirceu, and Delúbio Soares, but were confronted by the solitary protest of Maria Gabriela de Farias, who suggested solidarity in prison. This Friday, Merval Pereira also condemned the fundraising effort and sees the PT as an incorrigible party incapable of admitting mistakes.
247 - "Want to help your friends? Share part of your prison sentence with them." This was the sign held by Maria Gabriela de Farias last night at a dinner organized by the Workers' Party youth wing in Brasília to raise funds for those convicted in Criminal Action 470. In total, about 150 people attended, purchasing tickets priced between R$100 and R$1.000. Therefore, a maximum of R$150 was raised, insufficient to pay the fines of José Dirceu (R$676), José Genoíno (R$468), Delúbio Soares (R$325), and João Paulo Cunha (R$370).
The unusual aspect of the situation is that those responsible for what is allegedly the largest corruption scheme of all time – which, according to Roberto Gurgel and Joaquim Barbosa, involved more than R$ 150 million – are resorting to a party fundraising campaign to raise funds. José Genoíno, as is known, lives in a simple house in Butantã, which is his only asset. José Dirceu, although he has become wealthy as a consultant, lives in Vila Clementino. Delúbio Soares lives in Consolação. And João Paulo Cunha does not possess significant assets.
In Brazilian politics, cases of sudden enrichment occur in all parties. Recently, it was discovered that Senator Álvaro Dias possesses assets worth R$ 16 million, which are being disputed by an unrecognized daughter. Former campaign treasurers have become millionaires – and there are even cases of some who have become bankers.
The act of solidarity shown by the PT youth to some convicts, however, should have been just that: an act of solidarity promoted by people who believe in the innocence of friends and comrades. But it was transformed into a political act by their adversaries, such as Maria Gabriela de Farias, who suggested solidarity in prison, and Merval Pereira, in his column this Friday.
In the text "Vaquinha petista" (PT's crowdfunding campaign), Merval says that the dinner organized in Brasília expresses a determination of the Construindo um Novo Brasil (Building a New Brazil) faction, which "has no qualms about defending those convicted in the Mensalão scandal, a permanent stain on the history of the Workers' Party."
Solidarity is unsettling, however, not because of its moral—or supposedly immoral—aspect, but simply because it expresses the strength of the PT as a political organization.