In this week’s issue: The most important facts of the week. Does Brazil face a “statistical blackout”? Who has already been nominated to the next cabinet?
The week in review
- Inauguration. Doctors decided to postpone President-elect Jair Bolsonaro’s surgery to remove a colostomy bag which he has been using since he was stabbed in the abdomen on Sep. 6 (the procedure had been scheduled for Dec. 12). The doctors found inflammation in Mr. Bolsonaro’s intestines but his prognosis remains positive. However, he will have to wear the colostomy bag during his inauguration on Jan. 1st.
- Corruption 1. Members of the Workers’ Party top brass will face a corruption trial. Former presidents Lula and Dilma Rousseff—alongside two former Finance Ministers and the party’s former treasurer—are accused of leading a corruption ring that misappropriated BRL 1.5bn from Petrobras. Other party members who hold elected offices face similar accusations, but can only be prosecuted by higher courts.
- Corruption 2. Operation Car Wash investigators say construction firms OAS and Odebrecht paid BRL 68m in bribes to Workers’ Party members, as well as to former executives at Petrobras and Petros, the company’s pension fund. The operation’s 56th phase was launched on Friday, investigating corruption schemes in...