Sarney finds Dinho's criticism unfair and rejects the accusation in "What kind of country is this?"

Rio247 and Agência Estado - The president of the Federal Senate, José Sarney (PMDB-AP), today classified as "unfair" the criticism made against him by the lead singer of the band Capital Inicial, Dinho Ouro Preto, during Rock in Rio 2011. During his performance, the musician dedicated the song "Que país é esse?" to the president of the Senate and criticized the judicial prohibition that prevents the newspaper "O Estado de S. Paulo" from publishing information about Operation Boi Barrica, by the Federal Police, which is investigating businessman Fernando Sarney, the senator's son. Last Thursday, in a letter to the artist complaining about the treatment, Sarney claimed that the festival benefited from the cultural incentives created by his government and reminded him that it was he who promoted diplomat Afonso Ouro Preto, Dinho's father, to ambassador.

It's natural that, as a doting father, Sarney would defend his son, Fernando Sarney, who was indicted in the Federal Police's Operation Barrica for money laundering, influence peddling, and tax evasion. What is strange are the arguments. What is Sarney demanding when he claims that his government encouraged culture and, on the other hand, promoted a diplomat to the position of ambassador? Either these decisions are based on government actions necessary for the country, or they refer to future bargaining chips that the Senate president has decided to demand. Let's face it, the second option doesn't enhance his stature.

With or without his father's help, Fernando Sarney has so far fared well in the face of the accusations. Last month, a ruling by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) deemed the evidence presented in an opinion from the Public Prosecutor's Office and decisions from the Regional Federal Court and the first instance court to be null and void. The evidence is based on a report from the Council for Financial Activities Control (COAF), which pointed to evidence of financial crime in three atypical transactions, totaling R$ 2 million, made in 2006 by the businessman and his wife, Cristina Murad. The STJ ruling annulled the telephone conversations intercepted in the operation.

Sarney was booed by 100 people when he was mentioned during the Capital Inicial concert. In an interview with the Porto Alegre newspaper "Zero Hora," the president of the Federal Senate recalled that rock music is characterized by its protest and defended freedom of the press. According to him, his son had the right to take legal action against the State of São Paulo, although, he added, if he had been consulted by lawyers, he would not have done so.

Other contradictory statements marked the tone of the interview with the newspaper Zero Hora. “Rock is a style that has the DNA of protest, it has always been marked by questioning. It's understandable that at a rock festival there would be a manifestation of this type,” however, the criticism was unfair,” said the PMDB member. “During my administration, we contributed to the greatest freedom of expression we have ever had in the country. Culture and the arts must be free. They may be unfair, but they cannot cease to be free,” he pondered.

The senator also emphasized that, during the military dictatorship, he defended the newspaper Estado de São Paulo from press censorship and that, during his public life, he never sued a journalist. "Even having been one of the most censored politicians in the history of the Republic, my voice was alone within the National Congress in a speech defending Estadão and freedom," he said.