Eduardo Cunha, the former head of the Chamber of Deputies and the leader of the effort that ousted the democratically elected Dilma Rousseff, has been officially removed from his post through a vote by his fellow politicians for his role in the massive Petrobras corruption case.
Advertisement
In a dramatic fall from grace, Eduardo Cunha saw the lower house over which he presided up until May vote 450 to 10 to strip him of his mandate and ban him from public office until 2027.
Cunha, who said the accounts belonged to a trust, was pressured into resigning as speaker in July after the accounts came to light.
Unionists and members of social movements demonstrate in support of Brazil’s impeached president Dilma Rousseff and against President Michel Temer in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday.
In a heated session Monday night, several lawmakers tore into Cunha, who was in his fourth term and just months ago was considered one of the most powerful men in Brazil.
“The current administration adopted the agenda of removing me from office”, he said, adding that he planned to publish a book telling about the behind-the-scenes dealings that led to the impeachment of Rousseff. He denies any wrongdoing.
Thanks largely to Cunha’s leadership, the lower house voted heavily in favor previous year of opening an impeachment trial against Rousseff, on charges that she illegally manipulated government accounts.
His enemies accuse him of using his power to launch impeachment proceedings as a trump card to stave off his own prosecution for allegedly taking millions of dollars in bribes.
The daily O Globo forecast that 297 lawmakers out of a total 513 will vote against Cunha – 40 more than the minimum required. The new president is also under investigation for bribery, as are most of his top lieutenants, who were once close to Mr. Cunha. Bueno said Cunha took kickbacks from companies and instructed them to donate to the campaigns of his allies. They allege that he received an illegal payment of $5 million.
Temer said that private investment is the anticdote to address Brazil’s sizeable budget deficit, as the country experiences its worst recession in four decades.
Advertisement
He is also known as the “keeper of secrets” in Congress, where dozens of other politicians are also accused of fraud and has suggested he may cooperate with investigators into a wide ranging corruption scandal. Prosecutors say more than $2 billion was paid in bribes by companies to obtain inflated contracts.
