From: David Sangurima <sangu@igc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america
Date: 20 Jul 92 19:06 PDT
Subject: IPS: Brazilian press vs corruption
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1473800079:000:6586
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!sangu    Jul 20 19:06:00 1992


From: David Sangurima <sangu>
Subject: IPS: Brazilian press vs corruption

/* Written  7:36 am  Jul 20, 1992 by hrcoord in cdp:reg.samerica */
/* ---------- "BRAZIL: THE PRESS-THE MAIN ENEMY OF" ---------- */
From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: BRAZIL: THE PRESS-THE MAIN ENEMY OF

/* Written 12:38 am  Jul 20, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: BRAZIL: THE PRESS-THE MAIN ENEMY OF CORRUPTION


an inter press service feature

by mario osava

rio de janeiro, jul 17 (ips) -- the brazilian press is currently
enjoying one of its most influential periods ever in the nation's
political life, and is diligently uncovering corruption scandals
that threaten the present government's survival.

the press ''is now the main instrument for improving ethical
statndards in politics in this country,'',said sociologist
herbert de souza, director of the brazilian instinhqkf uocialkrxr auemic anal
ysis (ibise), one of the countpljjest
non-government organisations.

as the ''interpreter of public opinion'', the media has
assumed ''a fundamental political function'' to rescue ethics,
said de souza. however, he specified that it was the written
press which had undertaken this role, not television, which has
''adopted an official line.''

brazil's political life has already undergone profound change
in the wake of the public denunciations unleashed by the print
media, de souza believes.

''there will be no going back, except under a dictatorship'',
he forecast, pointing out that brazil's military regimes began to
crumble with the end of press censorship.

''brazil qylue after this present political
crisis, becuase the relationships between government, private
business, political parties and the press will have changed,
regardless of the outcome of the process,'' said the governor of
sao paulo state, luis antonio fleury.

reacting to successive revelations that threaten to jeopardise
his mandate, president fernando collor de mello charged that a
''coup syndicate'', including the political opposition and part
of the brazilian media, was behind the accusations.

''the press is fulfilling its role by informing public opinion
and it's doing it well, without any intention of overthrowing the
president,'' said gerson sintoni, editor-in-chief of the magazine
''imprensa'', which specialises in media coverage.

sinc last year successive accusatwons of fiancial
irregularities and government corruption have led to the
dismissal of several ministers and sweeping changes in the
cabinet.

however, the main protagonist of the current political scandal
is businessman paulo cesar farias, the president's friend and
former campaign treasurer, who has been the subject of several
press reports. (more/ips)
----


brazil: the press-the main enemy of corruption     (2)

brazil: the press (2)

at first, there were only ''suspicions, unproven charges.''
but the accusations against farias gathered momentum when the may
24 edition of ''veja'', the magazine with the largest national
circulation, published damning evidence of government corruption.

according to sintoni, even the media was surprised at the
quantity and scope of the evidence.

the denunciations published in ''veja'', made by the
presdient's own brother, pedro collor de mello, have forced a
parliamentary commission of inquiry (cpi), the federal police and
judicial authorities to investigate the illegal activities of
paulo cesar farias and his links with the president.

in this case, it was a reporter who played a key role in
pursuading pedro collor to go public with accusations that farias
headed a corruption ring in the government, and was the president's
''front-man''.

''the scandal exploded'', 'veja's' sales increased by 15
percent, and the ''bandeirantes'' television channel, which
provided live coverage of important evidence presented to the
cpi, saw its viewer ''ratings'' soar, antonioni said.

brazil's weekly news publications excelled themselves during
this period. on june 28, ''isto e'' published an investigative
report based on startling revelations by the former chauffeur of
president collor's private secretary, which almost toppled the
government.

the chauffeur, fransisco eriberto franca, revealed that
collor's private household expenses were paid by paulo cesar
farias, who is now the national symbol of corruption. the
magazine also published copies of bank receipts proving some of
franca's assertions.

for several days, the government's stability was severely
threatened, with the liberal front party, the country's main
political force, and several ministers on the verge of deserting.
but collor's televised address to the nation, in which he firmly
denied having links with farias, succeeded in holding the
government together.

the outcome of the present crisis will be defined on august
11, when the cpi concludes its investigation and presents a
report on its findings. if the corruption allegations against
collor are proven, he would be subject to an impeachment process
that could take six months.

''the press has taken a lead by revealing facts that have then
been investigated by the cpi,'' said sintoni.

the intense public interest in the case was reflected in the
size of the audience that tuned in to watch ''bandeirantes'' live
television coverage of the five-hour cpi session on july 1, in which
fransisco eriberto franca gave evidence before the commission.
(more/ips)
----


brazil: the press-the main enemy of corruption     (3)

brazil: the press (3)

meanwhile, ''isto e'' magazine, which printed 260,000 copies
of its end of june edition, increased its output to 351,800 the
following week.

according to imprensa's editor, ''in a country where
institutions function badly it's natural that the press, in
fulfilling its role, should wield major influence.''

the next edition of imprensa, at the beginning of august, will
include a survey to find out how the population views press
coverage of the present crisis and assess the degree of public
confidence in the media.

one person who believes the press has done a good job is
jurist miguel seabra fagundes, former president of the supreme
court, who expressed concern at the deterioration in the
country's executive, legislative and judicial powers.

for his part, barbosa lima sobrinho, the 90 year-old president
of the brazilian press association, reflected that ''the press
has matured.'' (ends/ips/trd/mo/sfi/cg/92)
---