Seeking relief from the bank

I'm not really mentioned it to date, because the story is so readily available elsewhere, but finally I can make reference to the investigation into the apparent tax evasion of the Central Bank president, Henrique Meirelles. Although it won't be quite what you expect.

The point of this blog - at least as I presently see it - is to look at the political news overlooked by English language coverage and in the run up to the October elections. And besides, there's so much going on in Brazil that just deserves a mention. So I've avoided this particular story. Until now.

I was wondering how long it would take before it made the move from parliamentary investigation into outright political debate. And sure enough, it's happened. The Workers Party's (PT) president, Jose Genoino, has criticised the investigation for 'emptying' information about the investigation at its centre for clear political purposes.

Clearly there are concerns within the PT over this story. Chances are this ongoing saga will probably register among the electorate in the next polls, which linked with the alleged illegal contributions scandal earlier this year, may cause some damage to the government and its candidates in the mayoral races - not least in the economic powerhouse, Sao Paulo.

Could this then be part of the reason for bringing together both President Lula and Sao Paulo's mayor, Marta Suplicy, yesterday, to talk about her successes during her mandate? These apparently include improvements in education, support to low income workers and small businesses. Nothing like getting back to your roots when seeking support.