Klaus Hart Brasilientexte

The Brazilian Senate recently extinguished 50 of its 181 directorates, 70% of which had been created by Senator Jose Sarney (PMDB-AM) when he presided over the House between 2003 and 2005. This small cut represents an annual economy of R$4.8 million of tax payers™ money.Auslandsreisen mit der Familie auf Steuerzahlerkosten: http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=1240549822765Lulas Mensalao-Skandal: http://www.hart-brasilientexte.de/2009/03/06/elitenliebling-lula-macht-alles-richtig-partido-do-movimento-democratico-brasileiropmdb-wichtigster-partner-der-regierungsallianz-jose-sarney-chef-des-nationalkongresses-ex-staatsprasident-collor/

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Extinguished directorates do not mean unemployed directors. They only lost the post and with it some perks such as monthly gratuities (which varied between R$2000 and R$5000), the use of mobile phones (paid for by us) and a space in the Senate™s garage.

On landing there is another employee waiting for him at the door of the aircraft, carrying his briefcase for him, collecting his luggage from the conveyor belt and taking him to the official vehicle which is solemnly parked where common citizens cannot.

There was a director of the Cabinet for Coordination and Execution (of what?). She had entered the House as a telephone operator and, thanks to the connivance of senators had reached the role of director. What with a high salary and gratuities, she was allowed to park her shiny BMW in the Senate™s private garage. Actually, she wasn™t the only director in this office. There were three others!

Amongst the 50 extinguished secretariats, three were for Technical Electronics and a sub secretariat of Technological Convergence as well as a sub secretariat for Technology and Information. I can only guess what activities these organs were involved in, probably the installation and repair of electronic equipment such as computers. What would ”technological convergence mean? The standardizing of computer language or the synchronizing of programmes and forms?

It is interesting to note that in spite of having so much technology at its disposal, the Senate still requires shorthand to record its sessions. Is it not time to record parliamentarians™ speeches and debates on magnetic tape, videos and DVDs? The sub secretariats for the Registering of Shorthand, for Shorthand Writing, Shorthand Revision and Supervision of Shorthand continue to operate. Why not replace them with steno typing?

An old Latin proverb says: ”Senatores boni viri, senatus autem bestia (Senators are honourable men, but the senate is a monster). In truth, monsters are we, who are not always careful when we elect our politicians. It is true that, amongst the 81 senators, there are those who stand out for their ethics, do not allow themselves to be bitten by the blue fly and even dare to denounce that corruption flourishes amongst some of their equals.

At present the Senate has 131 directorates! Amongst them are the Secretariat for the Senate Police and the sub secretariats for Ostensible Police, for Protection of Authorities and the Judiciary Police. A real Brancaleonese Army[2] <#_ftn2> ! Do all these policemen investigate reports of corruption, abuse of authority, nepotism and bad administration within?

The Senate™s ills are endemic to the public machine: the ”Ascone culture means ”Advisor for Nothing At All. When one looks at ministries, state owned corporations, state governments, legislative assemblies, council chambers and town councils, one perceives a legion of employees who are completely dispensable, persons who take up innocuous jobs created for the benefit of politicians™ friends, protégés and relatives.

The dishonourable politician has no scruples when finding a public job for a party member or for the son of a party member, the sister in law™s godson or the daughter of someone who finances his campaign. When the press does its job questioning how the peoples™ money is spent there are senators who, as Jesus said, see the speck in the other™s eye and do not see the plank in their own. In other words they think the exaggeration is the fault of the media and not the fault of a parliament which has the luxury of employing approximately 10,000 employees (3,400 who merit the job, 3,100 who were commissioned and almost 3000 who were sub contracted). This represents 123.4 employees for each of the 81 senators. All paid for by the taxpayer.

The government owes us a political reform. While it does not happen, the public machine will continue to be a source of jobs for friends, relations and political allies where thieves and the corrupt will compete for political posts in order to take advantage of impunity and immunity. In a decent Republic, senators should be the first to dispense with privileges, send their children to state schools and use the public health system (SUS) when they need a doctor.

Politicians should never feel uncomfortable when rendering accounts to public opinion. It is their duty to do so.
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*Frei Betto is a writer, author of ”Calendário do Poder (Calendar of Power) (Rocco); he is a Brazilian Dominican with an international reputation as a liberation theologian.
Within Brazil he is equally famous as a writer, with over 52 books to his name.  In 1985 he won Brazil™s most important literary prize, the Jabuti, and was elected Intellectual of the Year by the members of the Brazilian Writers™ Union.

Frei Betto has always been active in Brazilian social movements, and has been an adviser to the Church™s ministry to workers in Sáo Paulo™s industrial belt, to the Church base communities, and to the Landless Rural Workers™ Movement (MST).

In 2003-2004, he was Special Adviser to President Lula and Coordinator of Social Mobilisation for the Brazilian Government™s Zero Hunger programme.

http://www.hart-brasilientexte.de/2009/04/26/a-new-model-for-society-frei-betto-brasiliens-wichtigster-befreiungstheologe/

http://www.hart-brasilientexte.de/2008/11/22/ich-bin-christ-und-sehe-mich-als-revolutionar-brasiliens-wichtigster-befreiungstheologe-frei-betto/