AGU prepares ‘review’ of Bolsonaro and Temer era – 02/26/2023 – Politics

The body responsible for the legal representation of the federal government, the AGU (Advocacy General of the Union), mobilizes to review positions presented to the STF (Supreme Federal Court) during the terms of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and Michel Temer (MDB).

The idea is to align them with the guidelines of the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) administration, in opposition to what previous governments defended, especially in environmental, social and economic issues.

In addition, the body proposes to reduce litigation in these areas and seek negotiated solutions, such as agreements, for the greatest number of issues.

Under Bolsonaro, the AGU became known for the intense presentation of actions in the Supreme Court on behalf of the president, to try to resolve situations such as blocking profiles on social networks and reviewing measures by state and municipal governments against the Covid-19 pandemic.

One of the main changes in positioning will be made in the actions of what became known in the Supreme Court as the “green agenda”, most of which are under the responsibility of Minister Cármen Lúcia.

The actions were taken to the plenary of the court in March last year, when the minister stated that she had seen an “unconstitutional state of affairs” in the country’s environmental policy, an institute that would allow the Judiciary to stipulate measures to the other Powers in relation to the subject.

The minister made severe criticisms when voting on actions that asked the federal government to carry out environmental inspection and control “at levels sufficient for the effective fight against deforestation in the Legal Amazon and the consequent achievement of the Brazilian climate goals assumed before the global community” .

The trial, however, was paralyzed by a request for a review (more time for analysis) by Minister André Mendonça, who was appointed to the position by Bolsonaro.

By taking a stand, the AGU under Bolsonaro spoke out against the actions. “Even the pertinence of all these actions is questionable”, said, before Carmen’s vote, the then attorney general of the Union, Bruno Bianco.

“There was no discontinuity in the action plan to prevent and control deforestation in the Amazon, but rather an evolution towards a new national plan to combat illegal deforestation and recovery of native vegetation for the years 2020 to 2023”, he justified.

In the Lula government, the AGU has already taken precautions to act considering an eventual recognition of this unconstitutional state of affairs — even if the votes of ten ministers are still missing in the case.

Another process in which the AGU under Lula must have a divergent position from Bolsonaro is the time frame, which discusses whether the date of enactment of the 1988 Constitution should be used to define the traditional occupation of land by indigenous people.

The thesis of the temporal framework is endorsed by ruralists and is rejected by indigenous people. The Supreme Court’s decision on the subject will affect all similar processes.

When supporting the case in the STF, Bruno Bianco stated that the framework brings legal certainty to land demarcations.

“Only with the completion of the demarcation procedure will the acts relating to the survey of non-indigenous occupations and the verification of improvements derived from the occupation in good faith begin”, said Bianco. The trial has not yet concluded.

Lula’s AGU also changed its position regarding the State-Owned Companies Law, sanctioned during the Temer government. At the time, the body considered the law constitutional. This was also the understanding of the PGFN (Attorney General of the National Treasury) already under Lula.

The current AGU ignored the PGFN and was contrary to parts of the rule that prohibit the appointment of politicians to positions in public companies and regulatory agencies.

The action in the STF against the State-Owned Companies Law was presented by the PC do B, a historical ally of the PT, has the rapporteur of Minister Ricardo Lewandowski and is seen as one of the government’s alternatives to open the way for the appointment of politicians to these posts.

“In addition to the performance of activities subject to the legal regime of public law, it is also incumbent upon the public administration to intervene directly in the economic domain, which generally occurs through state-owned companies”, said the body, in defending that the prohibitions on appointments are unconstitutional.

Upon taking office, on January 2, the attorney general of the Union appointed by Lula, Jorge Messias, made a speech with several criticisms of the administrations that succeeded the Dilma Rousseff (PT) government, when he acted as deputy chief of legal affairs of the House Civil.

“The year 2016 began a process of erosion of the democratic rule of law. The people’s rights were sabotaged with a view to their complete destruction,” he said in his speech.

“Access to public services and goods, to justice and citizenship was systematically attacked. We witness the rise of authoritarianism and the spread of civilizing setbacks.”

Shortly before the new AGU was sworn in, the body left the defense of the former president in inquiries being processed against him in the Supreme Court and also in a civil action of impropriety in the case involving his former parliamentary secretary in the Chamber Walderice Santos da Conceição, known as Wal do Açaí.

This happened because Bolsonaro was suspicious of the performance that the body, in the Lula government, would have in his defense. He hired the criminalist Marcelo Bessa, who also serves the PL.

At the Supreme Court, Bolsonaro is the target of investigations such as the fake news inquiry, Bolsonaro’s alleged interference in the Federal Police and the leak of information from the confidential investigation about a hacker attack on the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) system.