Brazil Versus Sleaze
A national corruption scandal has deepened Brazil's economic crisis. But, as Linda Pressly finds in the poor state of Maranhao, sleaze is widespread.
Brazil is in crisis. Confronted with a massive downturn in the economy, its currency has crashed, while its political class sinks in a quagmire of corruption allegations linked to the state oil company, Petrobras. In the northern state of Maranhao - dominated for decades by the powerful Sarney family - a new governor from the Communist Party of Brazil is attempting to bring a fresh broom to one of the country's most undeveloped states. Already he claims to have cut expenses by millions of Reals just by removing seafood and champagne from state banquet menus. But the malaise runs deep in Maranhao. In the small community of Bom Jardim, a 25-year-old mayor is under house arrest accused of skimming the education budget and running council business remotely using WhatsApp. And with the cancelling of a project to build a huge Petrobras refinery, Maranhao is feeling the economic pressure. Linda Pressly reports from one of Brazil's least known regions.
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Clawing Back The Budget…
Duration: 00:43
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- Thu 7 Jan 2016 11:00´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4
- Mon 11 Jan 2016 20:30´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4
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Crossing Continents
Stories from around the world and the people at the heart of them.