Todd Southgate

It’s moments like this I’m truly proud to be Canadian. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a chest pounding rabid nationalist that throws his fists up the moment a comment or criticism is raised about the motherland, nor do I wander the globe complaining about my home. I’m simply proud that I was born and raised in a Nation that, although some may argue and bicker with the details here, takes issues pertaining to political corruption seriously.

I’m rather enjoying all the noise made over Tom Zytaruk’s book and allegations that the late MP Chuck Cadman was somehow bribed, or an attempt was made to bribe him. I spent a couple of hours lurking in the background of a few political forums, taking in the humorous but sad assortment of “political cheer leading” that usually goes on by folks who treat politics like a high school football game. You know the type; they route for their “team” regardless of what happens in the field and spend a disproportionate amount of time trash-talking their opponents as opposed to engaging in issues. Still, the Cadman affair seems to be a hot topic across the board.

As I read the details of this supposed scandal, and watched it blaze across the Canadian media I was given a sense of pride because of just how trivial and banal the allegation was. Don´t get me wrong, it needs to be ferreted out, no matter how small (corruption can not be tolerated nor a flase allegation of corruption) that´s why I´m proud. Because in Canada this type of corruption, or accusation, is not very common and when it is raised it is treated seriously.

Here in Brazil, you literally (and I’m not exaggerating here) cannot open up a daily newspaper or weekly magazine without reading about a new scandal. Corruption in Brazil is as engrained in politics as tattoo ink is in one’s skin. There is no escaping it, whether at the Federal, State or Municipal levels, whether corporate or public. It’s a nation awash in corruption and dirty dealings and worse of all, it’s basically accepted.

The current scandal in Canada is based on a bribe allegedly made to an MP in return for a vote. Here in Brazil, suitcases containing 20,000 dollars were routinely given to party members in return for their support on certain issues. It was called the Mensalão, or ‘Big monthly” in English. This, being one of the largest scandals to affect the nation in recent times did end with the impeachment of the president’s right hand man, José Dirceu (although the President knew nothing.. ahem).

Politicians have cleverly over the years designed laws to protect themselves from punishment for any crimes they may commit. With a secret vote (of course), Dirceu was surprisingly impeached meaning he can’t “officially” play politics for 8 years. No jail time, no fines, no community services; just a “go away for a while” sneer. But this being Brazil, of course he’s still well entrenched behind the scenes.

Corruption is allowed to flourish in Brazil because of impunity mixed with a generally short national affair's attention span and rampant apathy. In other words: there´s too much to keep track of, no one will be charged, why bother?"

One of Brazil’s most famous political thieves is a man named Paulo Maluf, who has apparently been charged over 40 times with scandals involving billions of dollars (that´s billllllliooooonnnsss), but he always manages to make his way back into politics. He’s been Sao Paulo’s mayor (Sao Paulo being one of the world´s largest cities), the State of SP's Governor and was rumored to have run on a platform that boasted “I may be a thief, but I get the job done”. He’s now a federal deputy, of course.

I could fill this blog with a million stories that would make your average Canadian’s head spin, but that is not my objective. I opened up the internet today and saw a series of articles on a tiny scandal in Canada, that will be analyzed and debated more than the IPCC´s 4th assessment, and we probably won’t hear about another political scandal in the Great White North for some time to come. It’s moments like these that I pine to live again in Canada when you know those working on your behalf are still "politicians" with all that word connotes, but honest ones at least. Maybe one day, we´ll move back.

Oh, but those winters!