After PF operations, opposition senators meet with Pacheco and demand changes

The President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, received this Wednesday (31) a group of opposition senators to discuss the recent Federal Police operations against parliamentarians and present legislative suggestions to “rebalance” the relationship between the Powers.

On the occasion, the group commanded by the opposition leader in the Senate, Rogério Marinho, demanded a position from Pacheco on the PF search, authorized by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), in the offices of federal deputies Carlos Jordy (PL-RJ) and Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ).

“We present a legislative agenda, an agenda that has the institutional intention of reaffirming the prerogatives of the Brazilian Parliament, of protecting it and balancing the democratic process, because we do not understand a democracy, where the inviolability of the mandate and its respective actions, by its actions and words are at risk”, said Marinho, in a press conference, after the meeting.

Senators Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), Hamilton Mourão (Republicanos-RS), Marcos do Val (Podemos-ES), Márcio Bittar (União-AC), Izalci Lucas (PSDB-DF) , Tereza Cristina (PP -MS) and Carlos Portinho (PL-EJ) were part of the opposition delegation at the meeting.

Without giving details about the measures presented, Marinho said that Pacheco welcomed the agenda and should give feedback by Friday (2) on what he could “effectively” accept to put to a vote in the Senate. Oppositionists also demanded a dialogue with the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira, so that the measures can be processed in both legislative houses. “all of them are agendas for strengthening legislative power,

The opposition leader criticized the “lack of harmony” between the Powers and guaranteed that the proposed agendas will strengthen the Legislative Power, seeking the constitutional principles of “balance, independence and harmony”. “Today, [os princípios] are unbalanced by the way in which the Constitution and legislation have been relativized in the conduct of investigations into Fake News. Exceptional measures are being taken, practically every week, contrary to the law and in defense of the law itself. The constitution changes due to circumstances or political convenience,” he said.

The senators also criticize the conduct of the investigations by Minister Alexandre de Moraes. “This minister has made statements outside the file that worry us a lot, because he violates the Judiciary law, which prevents judges from issuing opinions and pre-judging actions for which they are responsible,” declared Marinho.

End of privileged forum

Among the proposals presented that should be revealed, after President Pacheco’s return, the deputy leader of the opposition in the Senate, Eduardo Girão, anticipated that one of them is for the end of the privileged forum.

“We requested some agendas, among them, the end of the privileged forum, as we consider it a very large shield, an umbrella and a mechanism that protects the powerful in Brazil. And today, with a power that crushes others, things are without progress, justice does not work, because the Senate should be the one who should investigate the STF, and the STF should be the one who should investigate the senators. One branch ends up protecting the other, because many parliamentarians have cases in the STF. So, what does What we want is for the legal process to exist in the country”, said Girão.

The Proposed Amendment to the Constitution by former senator Alvaro Dias (Podemos-PR) was unanimously approved in 2017 in the Senate, but is currently shelved in the Chamber. It ensures that any crimes committed by senators and other civil servants are judged in the first instance of justice.

In recent days, the opposition has also been seeking signatures for a Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) that requires the approval of the board of directors of the National Congress to carry out a police operation against a parliamentarian, be it a federal deputy or senator. The PEC is authored by deputy Rodrigo Valadares, from União Brasil, from Sergipe.