In the very first document produced on Brazilian soil, Portuguese knight Pêro Vaz de Caminha announced to King Manuel I of Portugal the discovery of a new land. He also took the opportunity to ask the monarch for the pardon of his son-in-law, who had been banished to Africa. Political patronage, as we see, was present from the very beginning of Brazil’s history.
Scandal has become an integral part of Brazilian politics, it seems. Over the past four years, Operation Car Wash – among other probes – has exposed the...
