Corruption in Portugal

Like an octopus with its eight arms,

no internal or external bone structure,

keen eyesight and intelligence,

corruption is spreading to all levels

of the portuguese society,

involving more and more people

in key government agencies and departments.

But just as octopuses, the guilty of these scandals,

know how to defend themselves,

by hiding, by squeezing

through the tight spaces of the law

and are never brought to justice.

Just to mention a few of these cases:

Freeport;

Football;

Cova da Beira;

Liscont;

Armando Vara /Goudinho;

etc,

many of these scandals with the current PM

José Socrates, as a common factor.

When in more serious trouble,

or finally cornered,

octopuses perform an autotomy,

by shedding one of their limbs,

or otherwise just use their extraordinary capacity

to flee by jet-propulsion.

All octopuses are venomous, experts in camouflage,

with the blue-ringed octopus deadly to humans.

In Portugal's case, the red-pink socialist tentacles!!

Only a year ago, the Socialist government

of José Socrates rejected a new law,

proposed by a fellow socialist, João Cravinho,

to curb corruption in high places.

The culprits receive protection

from their friends in key government positions.

Even the justice department refuses to open

an inquiry into Socrates' involvement

in the Freeport and Cova da Beira scandals.

Armando Vara,

(ex-minister, personal friend of PM Socrates,

was forced to resign

from a previous ministerial post

after being linked to a scandal of road satety)

was appointed,

as compensation for his resignation,

to a key banking position,

by the socialist government of Socrates.

Armando Vara has just resigned

from his 34,000 euros per month

government job as a vice-president

of a government controlled bank,

(performing his autotomy, like an octopus,

by shedding his lucrative prestigious job),

after it was alleged that he took

an envelop with

10,000 euros as a bribe.

I wonder how many millions of euros

he will receive as compensation for resigning??

Crime in highly influential goverment-linked positions

seems to pay generously!!

Millions of euros are involved in this tenticular web of venon

that is squeezing the portuguese economy and society to death.