Brazil’s lower house of Congress last week overwhelmingly approved a resolution granting powers to its leaders to suspend the terms of lawmakers who violate its code of conduct, after a public quarrel came very close to having two members engage in a physical altercation.
On June 5, the two best-voted lawmakers from the southeastern state of Minas Gerais had a spat in the hallways of Congress.
The House Ethics Committee had just shelved a motion to impeach Congressman André Janones, a close ally of the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration, for strong evidence of his involvement in a so-called “rachadinha” — a scheme by which public officials embezzle taxpayer money by hiring people who agree to kick back a share of their salary. Mr. Janones is separately investigated by federal police in the same case.
The outcome frustrated far-right Congressman Nikolas Ferreira, who attended the public hearing to demand punishment for Mr. Janones — despite not being a member of the Ethics Committee himself.
“The Supreme Court can do whatever it wants, but there is a law that it will never be able to overturn in this country, which is called the law of the harvest, [Mr.] Janones — you reap what you sow,” Mr. Ferreira said.
Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here …
A few minutes after the meeting ended, while still inside the Ethics Committee...
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