8/1 CPI: Lira and Renan duel, and Lula seeks key positions – 04/25/2023 – Power

On the eve of being created in Congress, the January 8 CPI has re-edited the dispute between the Chamber and the Senate and also the clash between President Arthur Lira (PP) and Senator Renan Calheiros (MDB), historic rivals both in Alagoas and in Brasilia.

The PP, Lira’s party, is pressing for the appointment of federal deputy André Fufuca (PP-MA) to be the commission’s rapporteur and, despite the bylaws, argues that preference should be given to the Chamber of Deputies.

Lula’s base talks about rescheduling the Senate’s Covid CPI team and placing former members of the commission in one of the key positions, such as Renan —rapporteur of the pandemic CPI and who does not hide his interest in participating now in the commission that will investigate coup attacks on the headquarters of the three Powers.

Despite pressure from Lira’s allies, senators claim that the regiment only says that the rapporteurship must be alternated between the Houses at each commission and that the last mixed CPI, on fake news, had a representative of the Chamber in that position.

The assessment of government members, however, is that there are arguments for both sides and that the decision on the rapporteurship and the presidency of the joint commission will be the result of a political agreement.

For the Planalto Palace, the central concern should be to prevent parliamentarians who supported the January 8 attacks from occupying strategic positions. The PT is even considering going to court to block the participation of federal deputy André Fernandes (PL-CE), author of the request.

Renan is part of Lula’s allies who, since the acts of January 8, have defended the creation of a CPI only in the Senate as a way of guaranteeing that the investigation was not dominated by the opposition —as he wrote in an article in the Sheet in February.

Now, to interlocutors, the senator has said that the fact that Lira supported Bolsonaro makes him an unreliable ally for Lula and that a possible centrão support for the government in the mixed CPI could have a high political cost for the Planalto.

Leader of the government in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA) said this Tuesday (25) that the government is calm with the images from the security cameras of the Planalto Palace —which led to the departure of the minister from the GSI (Institutional Security Office) Gonçalves Dias and boosted the creation of the mixed CPI.

One of Lula’s closest assistants, the senator said that General GDias, as he is called, was alone in the place —or “maybe he had his second one”—, and that “whoever was operating there, from the simplest person to the most graduated” were members of the Bolsonaro government.

“You don’t change a team in five days. The images only confirm that there was leniency on the part of these people. Employees joking, looking at their cell phones, while the turmoil took over. These people have to be held accountable. All there are State employees, not of government,” he said.

“‘Ah, but the people were not efficient.’ If there is someone from our government, whom I don’t know, who has been inefficient, he will be punished. There is certainly no one conniving. There are many people from the previous government”, added the senator, who is also a former Minister of Defense.

The first step for the CPI is its creation, which occurs with the reading of its request during a session of Congress. The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), should do so this Wednesday (26).

The reading of the application by Pacheco means that the commission was created, but does not imply its immediate installation. Before the commission begins activities, there is still a deadline for senators to include or remove their signatures from the application.

In addition, the installation actually happens only with the first session of the commission. For this, it is necessary that the party blocks indicate their representatives for the composition of the collegiate.

Such as Sheet showed, the government will try to control the commission to minimize the damage and limit the action of Bolsonarism.

By the Executive’s accounts, his support base will be entitled to 21 of the 32 seats – 11 in the Senate and 10 in the House. For this, Planalto will need to build agreements with the Lira bloc, in addition to acronyms considered independent, such as Republicans.

This Monday (24), Lira minimized her influence on the parliamentary commission of inquiry. The president of the House said that he did not participate in any conversations with the government and the Senate to deal with who will be the president of the group – and which House he will be.

“CPMI does not depend on the president of the Chamber. Then there is the election of the president, who will appoint the rapporteur. Depending precisely on this context, the presidencies of the Houses have little influence in this situation”, he said.

The PL in the Chamber, even with pressure against the name of André Fernandes, says that it maintains his nomination and that deputies Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) and Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ), a friend of family of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and former director general of Abin (Brazilian Intelligence Agency).

In the Senate, the party should nominate Bolsonaristas Magno Malta (PL-ES) and Jorge Seif (PL-SC), Bolsonaro’s former Secretary of Fisheries. The PP of Lira intends to count on Espiridião Amin (PP-SC). Senator Cleitinho (Republicanos-MG), elected in Minas Gerais with Bolsonaro’s direct support, told the report that he also wants to participate.