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UNCLAS BRASILIA 002233 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
NOT FOR INTERNET 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV BR
SUBJECT:  SENATE PRESIDENT STEPS DOWN -- FINALLY 
 
REFS: A) BRASILIA 1745; B) BRASILIA 1991 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Senator Renan Calheiros (PMDB, Brazilian Democratic 
Movement Party, government coalition; of Alagoas) resigned as Senate 
President on December 4 after facing months of mounting accusations 
of ethics violations.  His resignation was an apparent quid pro quo 
with his fellow Senators in exchange for acquittal, allowing him to 
keep his Senate seat.  Shortly after resigning, Calheiros survived a 
plenary vote by 48-29 on a second set of ethics charges.  In 
mid-September he survived a similar vote (ref a). 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Calheiros took leave from the presidency in October (ref 
b) after surviving a plenary vote on whether to remove him from the 
Senate and ban him from politics for eight years.  He still faces 
votes on several other ethics charges, and a conviction on any one 
would result in the loss of his Senate seat and political rights. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  According to customary Senate practice the presidency 
belongs to the largest party, currently the PMDB, with 20 seats. 
Jockeying for succession started long ago, and while many names have 
emerged in the media as possible successors, there is still no 
consensus candidate.  Many names from the PMDB's 20-senator 
delegation have been suggested in the media, only to disappear 
because the individual was unacceptable to the opposition, is under 
federal investigation for malfeasance and did not want to come under 
public scrutiny (two such cases), did not want the job (former 
president Jose Sarney), or was unacceptable to the government side. 
As a result, the solution may be the lowest common denominator, an 
uncontroversial figure acceptable to many but truly satisfactory to 
few.  The front runner appears to be Senator Garibaldi Alves Filho 
(PMDB-Rio Grande do Norte), who is not especially known for 
leadership qualities but has actively campaigned for the job. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Opposition politicians and many opinion leaders had hoped 
for a conviction to redeem the Senate's tarnished image and restore 
some public confidence in the national Congress.  With Calheiros's 
resignation from the Presidency and another acquittal under his 
belt, it's a draw between the political forces: Calheiros and the 
PMDB are spared the disgrace of his removal from the Senate, while 
opposition Senators are pleased to see him out of the Presidency, 
but will continue to try to get him removed from office on the many 
remaining ethics charges.  The Calheiros case is now assured to drag 
on into next February or March. 
 
CHICOLA