Carnival adds colour to Brazil scandal In the magical realist world of the Rio de Janeiro carnival, the last character one might expect to see portrayed in the festivities would be from the arcane sphere of Brazil's supreme court. But craftsmen in the city have begun churning out masks ahead of next February's carnival in the likeness of Joaquim Barbosa. This is in homage to the important role that the court's only black judge is playing in the country's biggest corruption case. Justice Barbosa is in charge of the so-called mensalão trial of alleged vote-buying in congress, whose suspects include senior members of the government of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. When the trial started last month, there was concern it might become just another example of how Brazil's elite is routinely able to evade serious punishment for its crimes. But a growing number of guilty verdicts is turning it into a potential landmark - or at least a signpost - on Brazil's tortuous path towards improved governance, with political implications for the ruling Workers" party (PT). "I think there is a demand for higher quality in everything in Brazil, including in politics," said Paulo Sotero, director of the Brazil Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington. Maybe this episode will mark the beginning of the end of impunity in Brazil. Mensalão, which translates as big monthly payment, dates from 2003 and 2004 - the beginning of Mr Lula da Silva's eight years in power. Senior members of his PT allegedly used public and private money to pay monthly stipends of $10,000 to opposition congressmen to vote in line with the administration. The former president denied knowledge of the scam. When the case came to light in 2005, it destroyed the reputation for honesty of the PT, which was elected in 2003 partly on an anti-corruption platform. Mr Lula da Silva was eventually able to shrug off the affair, winning a second term in office, but not before mensalão deepened voter cynicism over how business was done in the capital, Brasília. But thanks to the trial, Brazil has a chance to regain some of its lost confidence as far as its governance is concerned. Years in the making, the case involves 38 suspects who are being judged by the 11 Supreme Court justices. Justice Barbosa has divided the suspects into groups, starting from businessmen alleged to be involved in laundering the money, to opposition politicians who allegedly received the funds, and to the core PT politicians who allegedly masterminded the scheme. The most senior of these is José Dirceu, Mr Lula da Silva's former chief of staff, who was replaced by Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's current president, after the emergence of mensalão. He denies the charges. "When you have a really hot bowl of porridge, you begin eating from the edges first," said David Fleischer, political analyst at the university of Brasília, referring to the judges" trial of the least politically sensitive suspects first. To the surprise of some, though, there have been some increasingly important convictions. Among the most senior casualties so far is João Paulo Cunha, the former PT speaker of the lower house of Congress in 2003 and 2004. These judges, many of whom were appointed by Dilma or Lula, are voting against former officials. That's a good sign that there is some independence of the Supreme Court," said João Augusto de Castro Neves of Eurasia Group. The trial is expected to climax with the verdict on Mr Dirceu, which could come right before municipal elections in October. If he is convicted, Mr Lula da Silva, who is returning to politics after a spell fighting throat cancer, could be the biggest loser. In spite of vigorous support from the former president, the PT's candidates in the major municipal election for the city of São Paulo, South America's biggest metropolis, and in other key centres, such as Recife in the northeast, are struggling with mensalão featuring in the debate. "Lula is not Midas; not everything he touches turns to gold," says Mr Augusto de Castro Neves on the former president's disappointing poll results. Others say that in Brazilian politics, presidents no matter how popular have rarely been able to get mayors elected anyway. In any event, few expect mensalão to have much impact on Ms Rousseff. With soaring popularity ratings due to record low unemployment, she has stayed aloof from mensalão and other scandals. Any weakening of her mentor's superstar status may only serve to strengthen her standing in the PT. And by allowing the Supreme Court its independence, she will only increase her own - and Brazil's - credibility. What mensalão tells you is that Brazil has institutions. They may not be perfect but they work," says Mr Sotero. And that is not to even to mention the other positive side effect - the creation of new heroes for Rio's carnival celebrations.