‘Brazil will fix misuse of public funds’

Brazil’s president says public money was most likely stolen in relation to a scandal at the state-run oil company, Petrobras, Press TV reports.

Dilma Rousseff, whose political party has been implicated in an embezzlement and bribery scandal, told reporters in the capital, Brasilia, that her administration would firmly work for the recovery of the stolen funds.

“I will do my best to reimburse the country if there was misuse of public money. We want it back,” Rousseff said, while responding to the latest allegations of bribery involving Petrobras and top government officials.

Meanwhile, former director of Petrobras, Paulo Roberto Costa, recently admitted that money embezzled from the company was given to the president’s Worker’s Party in order to buy political favor.

He also claimed that some of the bribe money helped fund Rousseff’s 2010 presidential campaign.

President Rousseff was chairman of the company between 2003 and 2010, when much of the embezzlement and bribery scandal is believed to have happened.

She will take on pro-business opposition candidate, Aecio Neves, in the runoff presidential election slated for October 26.

“The eternal enemy is corruption and the idea that the president is connected to corruption is a big deal. She isn’t going to convince everyone of the contrary, but recognizing the corruption now will help her solidify her base while appealing to undecided voters,” a Brasilia resident told Press TV.

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