Congressional inaction in the Dallagnol case enshrines resistance to Lava Jato

The impeachment of deputy Deltan Dallagnol (Podemos-PR) by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), in a unanimous decision by the plenary, in May, imposed on the opposition and supporters of Operation Lava Jato, especially Senator Sergio Moro (União Brasil-PR) , the reassessment about your future. To the delight of the PT and allies, the defeat of the former federal prosecutor put Lava Jato icons against the wall and still hasn’t aroused a consistent reaction from Congress to possible abuses by the Judiciary. The Board of Directors of the Chamber confirmed the loss of Dallagnol’s mandate this Tuesday (6).

Previously, the Chamber’s Internal Affairs was notified of the TSE’s decision and set a deadline for the deputy to present a defense, in writing. But the report did not go so far as to consider the content of that piece, and only confirmed the understanding of the Electoral Court. The process proceeded to the Board of Directors, which now also endorsed the understanding of the TSE.

By means of a note, the Board informed that “it is not for the Chamber, or any of its bodies, to discuss the merits of the decision of the Electoral Court. This is not a hypothesis in which the Chamber is canceling a parliamentary mandate, but exclusively declaring the loss of mandate, as already decided by the Electoral Justice“.

Dallagnol, on the other hand, stated that the “Legislative Power decided to bow to the creation of the law by the Judiciary”. With the decision of the Board of the Chamber to confirm the impeachment of the mandate, his political future is in the hands of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). The defense has already appealed to the Supreme Court.

In the request presented to the Supreme Court, Dallagnol’s defense claimed that he is at risk of losing his mandate due to a questionable decision. And he asks that the mandate be maintained until the STF decides on the case. The process was distributed by lot, and the rapporteur chosen was Minister Dias Toffoli.

“Once again, the Legislative Power decided to bow to the creation of the law by the Judiciary. Today, the house of the people has become against the will of the people. I fought and will fight until the end for the voters. My crime was to have defended my values , the truth and having sought to put corrupt politicians in jail for the first time in the history of Brazil”, said the parliamentarian.

Abuse of Authority CPI

After the TSE decision against Dallagnol, the episode gave impetus to the proposal of a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on the Abuse of Authority, to investigate decisions of the TSE and the Federal Supreme Court (STF) seen by parliamentarians as illegal. The proposal has the support of around 150 deputies, most of them oppositionist and right-wing, accompanied by sectors of society critical of the “political persecution” of the superior courts.

A request by Deputy Marcel Van Hattem (Novo-RS) for the creation of the CPI presented in November 2022 was rescued and expects to reach 171 support signatures to be made viable. “We will not accept living in a dictatorship”, says the author of the proposal.

Dallagnol stated that he will appeal “until the end” to maintain his mandate in the Chamber, as he considers the TSE’s decision to be the result of revenge by the “political system”.

Behind the scenes, parliamentarians assess that the support of right-wing parliamentarians for Dallagnol may have been circumstantial and would not be repeated with Moro, a former minister in the Bolsonaro government, against whom resistance is greater.

Anti-politics flag created difficulties for lavajatistas inside and outside Congress

Analysts consulted by People’s Gazette explain that Lava Jato, which garnered broad support from society and became a political discourse, especially from voices on the right, ended up losing space since the departure of former Minister Sergio Moro from the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). This has left many of the operation’s supporters exposed to attacks from the system they are fighting. Although Lava Jato’s actions have been questioned by lawyers for the defendants and by the STF wing in favor of criminal guaranteeism, the so-called “criminalization” of those responsible for the operation reflects the change in the political scenario and a certain weakening of popularity.

Researcher Antonio Lavareda understands that the Chamber’s inaction in the face of Dallagnol’s impeachment was, in turn, proof that the anti-political banner is not welcome in the parliamentary environment.

Leandro Gabiati, director of political consultancy Dominum, considers it natural that critics of so-called traditional politics, such as Dellagnol, Moro and the senator’s wife, deputy Rosangela Moro (União Brasil-SP), are not well-received in the parliamentary arena. “Under the Lava Jato emblem, they form a group coming from the Judiciary that attacked the actions of some who are now colleagues. The expectation was that they would be separated, requiring them to search for spaces to negotiate with leaders and parties”, he observes.

The expert, however, does not see absolute indifference from Parliament with Dallagnol’s defeat, in view of the strong corporatist spirit of its two Houses. “The mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), made a point of giving a message to the TSE about the prerogatives of the Legislative over the mandate of parliamentarians, remembering that the deputy would have guaranteed ample space for defense”, he said. He also understands that the demonstration of continued activism by the Judiciary, with questionable decisions, creates embarrassment for the effort to normalize relations between the three powers.

Bruno Carazza, professor at Fundação Dom Cabral, observed in a recent article published in the newspaper Economic value that Dallagnol was, in large part, a victim of his powerpoint in which he placed President Lula at the center of Lava Jato’s incriminations. The image, from September 14, 2016, gave ammunition to those who pointed to the excesses and even political intentions of the operation. “Interestingly, Operation Hands Clean (Italy) began to suffer setbacks when some of its exponents gave in to the siren song of politics. Over here the same thing happened, ”he said.

For the political scientist Ismael Almeida, impeachment brings negative impacts to the image of the Judiciary and to the feeling of society in general, at the same time that it can have varied effects for those involved. “The TSE overturned the unanimous decision of the TRE-PR and went against its own jurisprudence to revoke the mandate of a deputy elected with a large number of votes. The episode can increase the wear and tear of the Judiciary in general before the population and can give the feeling that judicial processes are decided based on the name involved and not according to the laws ”, he explains.

On the other hand, Almeida believes that Dallagnol can benefit from the decision if he is seen as a martyr, which would increase his popularity. “If the objective was to remove him from the political scene, the effect could be the opposite of what was expected. However, it is too early to say how everything will unfold, ”he points out.

As for the inaction of Congress in the face of the decision of the Electoral Court, the specialist does not see Congress’ unwillingness to coexist with external social forces. “The spirit of cooperation is very important in Parliament, and those who don’t understand this can end up isolated and without political support when they face difficulties,” he said.

Moro criticizes the defeat of the deputy, but fears he will be the next victim of the TSE

Shortly after Dallagnol’s impeachment by the TSE, Senator Sergio Moro also runs the risk of losing his mandate through a trial at the TSE, although due to different circumstances. He is accused by the PL of involvement in slush funds and irregularities in the financing of the Senate campaign. The action of former president Jair Bolsonaro’s legend against Moro is still being processed at the Regional Electoral Court of Paraná (TRE-PR) under secrecy of justice, which prevents knowing the evidence presented against him.

Dallagnol, in turn, was framed by the Clean Record Law for having asked to be dismissed from his position in the Public Ministry to avoid a hypothetical conviction in administrative disciplinary proceedings (PAD).

In any case, Moro has sought to take precautions, including a meeting with the president of the TSE, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, the day after Dallagnol’s impeachment. In addition, the senator has been careful with his words in public demonstrations in defense of the impeached deputy.

If Moro is impeached, the PL tends to be the biggest beneficiary, with his replacement by the second-placed in the election, former federal deputy Paulo Martins (PL). The PL has used the case of former Senator Judge Selma Arruda (Podemos-MT), nicknamed “I live in skirts” in the 2018 elections, as a precedent to try to remove the Paraná senator from the Senate. Selma was removed due to irregularities in accountability and her vacancy was filled by the current Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro (PSD), who placed third in the elections. Moro’s defense does not see any connection between the cases.

With the impeachment of Dallagnol, there is also the possibility that Jair Bolsonaro’s party will gain a new representative in the Chamber, reaching the mark of 100 deputies. The chair may be Itamar Paim (PL), as indicated by the Regional Electoral Court (TRE-PR). Pastor at the Church of the Foursquare Gospel, in São José dos Pinhais (PR), Paim won 47,052 votes.

But the issue is not yet defined, as Podemos will appeal to the STF to keep the vacancy. After the announcement of the Board of Directors’ decision, the Legislature stated that Justice will define who will occupy Dallagnol’s vacancy, since there is a dispute between Itamar Paim (PL) and Luiz Carlos Hauly (Podemos).