Justice delayed

A SLEAZY reputation has historically been little impediment to a long career in Brazilian politics. Fernando Collor, a former president impeached in 1992 and found guilty of corruption while in office, is back in the Senate. Paulo Maluf, who has been charged in the United States with theft related to a kickback scheme during his terms as governor and mayor of São Paulo, is now a congressman. Congressional permission is required for ministers and legislators to be investigated for crimes committed in office, and only the Supreme Court can try them. That lets politicians get away with murder—sometimes literally. Arnon de Mello, a senator (and Mr Collor’s father) shot and killed another politician in the Senate in 1963, but was never tried.

Against this backdrop, the trial, due to start on August 2nd, of 38 people accused of involvement in Brazil’s biggest corruption scandal of recent years is a rarity. The central accusation in the “mensalão” (big monthly stipend) case is that, after coming to power in 2003, the Workers’ Party (PT) diverted money from the advertising budgets and pension schemes of state-controlled firms to pay off legislators from allied parties, in return for their support. The allegations first surfaced in 2005, and the Supreme Court took on the case in 2007. Only now are the judges ready to try it.