VZCZCXRO2546
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #0122/01 0720940
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120940Z MAR 08
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7995
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 9137
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 2645
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 3092
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 3340
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0697
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 2341
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 3750
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 8634
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 4040
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAO PAULO 000122 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, INR/B, DRL 
NSC FOR TOMASULO 
TREASURY FOR JHOEK 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
USAID FOR LAC/AA 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM BR
SUBJECT: SANTA CATARINA GOVERNOR SURVIVES IMPEACHMENT SCARE 
 
REF:  SAO PAULO 61 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: Luiz Henrique da Silveira, Governor of the southern 
state of Santa Catarina, has survived an attempt to remove him from 
office over allegations of abuse of power.  On February 21, the 
Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) voted for technical reasons to 
suspend the legal proceedings against the Governor and retry the 
case against him, a process that will take some time.  The case grew 
out of a rivalry between current Governor Luiz Henrique Brazilian 
Democratic Movement Party - PMDB) and former Governor Esperidiao 
Amin (Progressivist Party - PP).  Like his fellow southern PMDB 
Governor Roberto Requiao of Parana (reftel), Silveira has 
potentially crossed the line between informing the public of his 
government's achievements and promoting his own political and 
personal interests.  The media are playing an increasingly important 
role in highlighting, and by extension helping to combat, potential 
abuses of power by those in power.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) In the second round of the 2002 gubernatorial elections in 
Santa Catarina, Luiz Henrique da Silveira (PMDB) defeated the 
incumbent, Esperidiao Amin (PP) in a hotly contested race, marking 
the first time Amin had ever lost an election in the state. 
Silveira owes his 2002 victory to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who in 
the course of his successful presidential bid visited Florianopolis 
and threw the support of his Workers' Party (PT) behind Silveira. 
Relations later cooled, especially after Luiz Henrique brokered a 
governing alliance with the center-left Social Democracy Party of 
Brazil (PSDB) and the more conservative Liberal Front Party (PFL - 
now Democratic Party, DEM), excluding President Lula's PT. 
 
¶3.  (U) Governor Silveira's first term was characterized by a focus 
on cultural activities and a policy of decentralization by creating 
regional secretariats.  Unlike many state politicians who devote all 
their attention to the capital, Silveira gave priority to developing 
the interior of the state.  Despite a penchant for promoting himself 
and his government's achievements, Silveira generally steered clear 
of major controversy.  He went so far as to step down in April 2006 
to devote himself to his re-election campaign, stating that he 
wanted to run against his opponent on equal terms and calling the 
advantages of incumbency "an unacceptable privilege" and "an 
excrescence."  The 2006 election again pitted him against former 
Governor Amin, whom he again defeated in the second round, by a 
margin of 52.7 to 47.3 percent. 
 
¶4.  (U) Many observers thought Silveira's victories in both rounds 
of two consecutive elections heralded the end of the Amin "dynasty" 
(Esperidiao Amin's wife, Angela, is a Federal Deputy who served two 
terms (1997-2004) as Mayor of Florianopolis), but they were 
mistaken.  The ex-Governor never accepted the election results and 
declined to depart the scene.  He and his supporters formed a 
political organization, "Save Santa Catarina," which demanded the 
removal of Governor Silveira for alleged wrongdoing in office.  The 
group claimed that a government-funded publicity campaign broadcast 
on radio and television between 2004 and 2006, "Santa Catarina in 
Action," was in fact Silveira campaign propaganda in disguise and 
out of season, as well as personal promotion at the public's 
expense.  In addition, they alleged that a special supplement, "40 
Months of Change," published in June 2006 by dozens of newspapers in 
the state's interior not long after Silveira resigned to run again, 
was also illegal campaign propaganda.  Finally, they accused 
Silveira's successor, Governor Eduardo Pinho Moreira, of proposing, 
during the second round of the election, legislation designed to 
disadvantage Amin. 
 
¶5.  (U) The Regional Electoral Tribunal (TRE), in a divided vote, 
ruled that Silveira's election was legitimate and certified him the 
winner.  However, "Save Santa Catarina" filed a separate complaint 
with the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE).  The case generated 
enormous interest throughout the state.  According to Joao Ramos 
Schaefer, a retired state appeals court judge and a partner in one 
of Santa Catarina's most prominent law firms, for weeks on end 
nobody talked about anything else.  After several delays, the TSE 
met on February 14 to consider the case.  Three of the seven 
Ministers (judges) voted to revoke the Governor's credential 
("diploma") and remove him from office.  However, a fourth asked for 
 
SAO PAULO 00000122  002 OF 002 
 
 
more time to review the case and consider his vote, leaving the 
parties (and the voters) in suspense.  The situation was complicated 
by uncertainty over next steps in the event the TSE voted to remove 
Governor Luiz Henrique and his Lieutenant Governor, Leonel Pavan 
(PSDB), who, as part of the Governor's ticket, would also be subject 
to removal.  The TSE would have the option of either installing the 
losing candidates, Esperidiao Amin and his running mate, or calling 
a new election.  Either course would be politically explosive. 
 
¶6.  (U) On February 21, after hearing heated arguments, the 
President of the TSE, Marco Aurelio Mello, broke a 3-3 tie by voting 
to suspend the process and re-try the case on the grounds that Lt. 
Governor Pavan had not been afforded the opportunity to defend 
himself.  Accordingly, the case, in Mello's words, returns "to 
square one."  While there is no prescribed time frame for the 
retrial, experts believe it could take up to a year.  Each Minister 
has the right to take as much time as he needs to decide.  Two 
Ministers are scheduled to rotate off the TSE, to be replaced by two 
new ones who will need time to get up to speed.  While the state is 
awash with rumors that one or more of the Ministers may have been 
co-opted by Silveira supporters, to date nobody has brought forth 
any evidence of irregularity.  Some observers have speculated that 
the TSE's decision could have an impact on pending cases involving 
six other Governors elected in 2006 whose mandates have been 
challenged over similar alleged offenses. 
 
¶7.  (U) Biographic Note: Luiz Henrique da Silveira, 67, has served 
since 2003 as Governor of Santa Catarina, a southern state with a 
population of about 6 million and among the highest levels of 
economic development and quality of life in Brazil.  A native of 
Blumenau, he was a lawyer and law professor before entering 
politics.  Silveira is affiliated with the non-ideological Brazilian 
Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), which he served as national 
president, 1993-96, and has always enjoyed strong political support 
in the interior of the state.  He began his political career as a 
State Deputy and subsequently was elected five times to the federal 
Chamber of Deputies.  On the national level, he was Minister of 
Science and Technology (1987-1988) during the Sarney administration. 
 His main electoral base is in Joinville, the economic power and 
largest city in Santa Catarina, where he served three terms as 
Mayor.  End Biographic Note. 
 
¶8.  (U) Comment:  Governor Luiz Henrique appears to have run into 
the same problem of mixing personal promotion and official 
activities that Governor Roberto Requiao (reftel) encountered in 
Parana State.  While these players are not part of the national 
electoral scene and what happens in this imbroglio will have little 
impact on the 2010 national elections, it is interesting to note 
that the local media, regardless of why they are interested or who 
is urging them to become involved, are maintaining a focus on issues 
of legality and abuse of official position which can only help in 
solidifying Brazil's maturing democracy.  If similar cases in other 
Brazilian states move forward, Governors elected in 2010 may opt for 
even more transparency during their terms.  End Comment. 
 
WHITE