VZCZCXRO7010
OO RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1745 2561847
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131847Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9936
INFO RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 7124
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 0766
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 5088
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 4990
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 7005
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6277
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 6409
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001745 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL BR
SUBJECT:  SENATE PRESIDENT WINS ACQUITTAL ON IMPROPRIETY CHARGES 
 
¶1.  (U) In a historic vote, Brazilian Senate President Renan 
Calheiros was absolved on September 12 of charges of misconduct - 
the first time the Senate had voted on a charge of impropriety 
against its president.  The secret vote of 40 to 35, with 6 
abstentions, fell short Of the 41 votes needed to find him guilty of 
misconduct for allegedly entering into an arrangement in which a 
public relations firm that benefited from government contracts 
handled child support payments to a journalist with whom Calheiros 
has an illegitimate daughter.  Calheiros still faces two other 
related charges that will also be voted in the Ethics Committee and, 
if approved, in the Senate plenary. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  With this vote to absolve, President Lula retains a key 
ally in the senate who was, until the ethics scandal arose, en 
effective deal-maker for the Lula administration and a well-liked 
mediator among his Senate colleagues.  Now greatly weakened and 
possibly ineffective, he may not be able to recover.  The Senate's 
public image is tarnished, and the vote guarantees the process will 
drag on for weeks or months more.  The opposition will selectively 
obstruct voting for a while, prolonging both the paralysis that has 
plagued the Senate over the last few months and the sense of crisis, 
as the media continue to focus national attention on the alleged 
corruption of a senior elected official. 
 
¶3. (U) Comment:  Calheiros's victory may indeed be, as one 
commentator posited, a "pyrrhic victory" that leaves him with the 
title but little power, with another senator emerging as the new 
dealmaker who advances the administration's agenda.  Some 
commentators have suggested that, with his victory won, Calheiros 
might even step down from the senate presidency.  But the worst may 
be over for Calheiros, as some in the senate are suggesting that the 
remaining charges could fizzle. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Comment, continued:  Analysts and commentators assert that 
the Senate has damaged its image ("committed suicide," quipped one), 
but with the Congress's public approval rating already near 
rock-bottom, it makes little difference.  Media commentators say 
public outrage over the verdict is unprecedented, if the volume of 
e-mails they received is a reliable gauge.  But most Brazilians do 
not use e-mail, and probably view the matter as politics as usual, 
if they care at all.  The Senate's decision shows that the old rules 
of the game still hold, that favors and friendship count more than 
any interest in punishing impropriety or even improving the 
institution's image in the public eye. 
 
CHICOLA