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Brazil Presidents Christmas Decree Draws a Firestorm, and a Rebuff
By ERNESTO LONDOÑO and LIS MORICONI DEC. 28, 2017
RIO DE JANEIRO — From another president, a Christmas decree relaxing eligibility rules for nonviolent criminals seeking pardons might have been viewed as a benevolent act.
Yet benevolence is a not a sentiment Brazilians tend to apply to President Michel Temer, who set off a firestorm over the weekend by signing a decree that might one day spare him and several close allies dogged by corruption allegations from spending years in prison.
Mr. Temer billed the measure as an “indulto natalino,” or Christmas pardon. But prosecutors expressed outrage, calling the move an “insulto natalino,” or Christmas insult, signed by a deeply unpopular president who this year managed to stave off prosecution over accusations of condoning bribes, obstructing justice and helping mastermind a huge kickback scheme.
On Thursday, Justice Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha, the head of Brazil’s Supreme Court, suspended key provisions of the Christmas order, including one that would have relaxed the rules by allowing people to seek a pardon after serving one-fifth of their term, instead of one-quarter.
More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/world/americas/temer-brazil-indulto-pardon.html
