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Already innocent: radioactive bribes, white-collar corruption and nuclear expertise in Brazil

ABSTRACT The ‘father’ of Brazil’s nuclear energy programme since the 1970s, Vice-Admiral Othon, was released from prison in October of 2017 to await appeal of a 43-year sentence issued in 2016. Admiral Othon had been found guilty of organising fraudulent financial activities, engaging in political bribes and rigging and inflating construction contracts related to the construction of Brazil’s third nuclear reactor, Angra 3. Othon’s corruption sentencing coincided with impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers Party (PT), also accused of financial manipulation and of having knowledge of political corruption in the Petrobras case known as Car Wash. Some on the political left have read Dilma’s impeachment as a successful strategy employed by the right wing to diminish centre-left political power. While political corruption in the fields of energy production is similarly the centrepiece of both cases, they are perceived differently. Comparing the two, the concept of nuclearity as developed by Gabrielle Hecht helps explain why Othon received considerable support from across the political spectrum. His supporters framed his case as one being managed by external foreign interests supposedly keen on preventing Brazil from harnessing its nuclear energy potential and, implicitly, of disregarding its national security risks and needs. Political corruption cases can either animate or neutralise public and moral sentiment. Perceptions of the Othon case challenge the notion that the anti-corruption campaign is merely a right-wing attempt to undermine the left. The case reveals how corruption thrives under the cover of nuclearity and in large-scale construction projects relevant to national security.