Editorial: The End is Just the Beginning

11/15/2013 - 11h33

A trial which seemed like it would never end finally came to a head yesterday. And yet, the result will not please everyone. Since Folha revealed the existence of the illegal vote-buying scheme which came to be known as the 'mensalão', some eight years ago, there are many who have advocated the summary conviction of all those accused. This did not happen.

But the result will go some way towards assuaging the concerns of the majority, those who, during the six-year-long trial, had resigned themselves to the idea that the justice system did not work, that corruption would always go unpunished, that the political classes remained above the law.

In yet another surprise, among the many that have punctuated the longest trial in the history of the Supreme Court (STF, in its Portuguese acronym), it was decided on Wednesday that those defendants who had exhausted their legal resources would begin to serve their sentences immediately.

Effectively this means that 16 of the 25 defendants will begin to serve at least part of their sentences, probably starting next week. Among them are the adman Marcos Valério de Souza, who will be sent to a closed prison, and the leading Workers' Party (PT) men José Dirceu, José Genoino and Delúbio Soares, who will be held under semi-open conditions.

This has dispelled the mood created two months ago, when the STF accepted the right of certain defendants to a special legal recourse which allowed for the possibility of a retrial. Following this decision, there were many who lost patience with the whole process, who even appeared to despair of justice ever being done.

But the judge Gilmar Mendes argued convincingly in favor of the continuation of the trial. He insisted that the crimes for which the defendants had been accused constituted some of the most serious offences which can be committed within a democratic system.

For Mendes, the mensalão - a scheme which aimed to buy votes in the National Congress, using diverted public money - was an attack on national institutions, on the party political system, and on the very independence of the legislature.

It was a scheme through which a handful of leading politicians attempted to gain an unprecedented level of control of the state apparatus, and when it was revealed, they had the nerve to claim that they were victims of some kind of anti-popular conspiracy. There was no way it could have passed unpunished.

But this is almost what happened. The press, the federal police, the public prosecutors and the STF's president Joaquim Barbosa had to struggle constantly against the resistance of the PT authorities and highly skilled defense lawyers. It was also an unprecedented situation, which had to be resolved within the nation's knotty and complex legal system.

To make matters worse, two STF judges retired during the trial, which meant they could be replaced by judges who would be - at least in theory - more sympathetic to the needs of the ruling party.

Various mechanisms delayed the judgments, and there are still several men who are awaiting decisions regarding judicial recourses which may permit them a retrial. Among them are the congressmen João Paulo Cunha (PT - São Paulo); Pedro Henry (Progressive Party, Mato Grosso) and Valdemar Costa Neto (Party of the Republic - São Paulo).

This is not the worst outcome. There have been delays, but conversely these might lead to a much-needed review of judicial processes. Ultimately, the result is a fair one, and little will change, regardless of what happens to those men still waiting to hear their fate.

The result was not perfect. But it was the fruit of a human institution, and the judges involved were human, sometimes all too human. At least it is clear that the trial was neither a 'farce', nor a 'political trial,' as the PT propaganda machine tried to make out. To the contrary, the court was divided, with judges on both sides extremely attentive to the minutiae of the case.

On the other hand, the trial reinforced the notion that access to justice in Brazil remains extremely unequal. It also highlighted how much work needs to be done to improve legislation and the political culture in order to prevent and punish acts of corruption.

The successful convictions of some of the men involved does not in itself signify any great change for the country. However, gradually, the country is changing, and will continue to do so, as long as society stays aware, and vigilant.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE