Brazil Faces a New Corruption Scandal

Simon Romero

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Even as President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil has moved energetically to stamp out corruption in her government, a new scandal is surging to the fore, centered on charges of influence peddling by an aide to the popular former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The latest revelations have put the governing Workers Party on the defensive yet again, as investigators expose a bribery scheme across several high echelons of government.

The scheme largely involved selling falsified public documents needed for transportation projects, and it extended into the attorney general’s office, the Education Ministry and the regulatory agencies for civil aviation and ports, according to the federal police, which carried out raids of government offices here in São Paulo and in the capital, Brasília, in recent days.

The breadth of the scandal is rocking governing institutions just as the ground breaking trial of defendants in another scandal, a vote-buying scheme involving Mr. da Silva’s former chief of staff, winds down. The newest scandal was not as vast as the cash-for-votes conspiracy — called the mensalão, or “big monthly allowance,” in a reference to the regular bribes received by legislators — that went to trial. But it points to how corruption remains ingrained in Brazil’s political system.

“Perhaps the mensalão wasn’t the watershed that was celebrated, but rather a partial game-changer,” said David Fleischer, emeritus professor of political science at the University of Brasília.

Like the mensalão, this month’s scandal already has a catchy moniker, with political journalists dubbing it “Rosegate,” a riff on Watergate and the condensed name of Rosemary Nóvoa de Noronha, the former head of the presidential office here in São Paulo, who has emerged at the center of attention.

Mr. da Silva named Ms. Nóvoa de Noronha in 2003 to lead his office here, and his successor, Ms. Rousseff, kept her in that position until she was dismissed last Saturday. She is facing charges of influence peddling. Several other senior officials have been forced from their posts, including the No. 2 official in the attorney general’s office, José Weber Holanda Alves.

Throughout the years, Ms. Nóvoa de Noronha gained prominence in government circles thanks to her proximity to Mr. da Silva and her scheduling of his meetings in São Paulo, Brazil’s financial capital and his home before rising to the presidency. She obtained a diplomatic passport and accompanied him on trips to 23 countries from 2007 to 2010.

Investigators say she also assisted Paulo Vieira, a regulatory official who organized the false-documents scheme, by arranging meetings for him. In return, they say she received cruise-ship voyages, plastic surgery, money and legal advice for a divorce. She also obtained strategic-level postings for at least two officials in the scheme, including Mr. Vieira, in addition to well-paid public jobs for her daughter and husband.

Senior figures in the Workers Party have said it would be wrong to associate Mr. da Silva with Ms. Nóvoa de Noronha. José Chrispiniano, a spokesman here for Mr. da Silva, declined to comment on the matter, saying that nothing was found linking the former president to the investigation.

Simon Romero, The New York Times, November 30, 2012