Find out who are the deputies who gave up supporting CPMI

The efforts of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to prevent the installation of the Joint Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPMI) destined to investigate guilty and omissions in the acts of January 8 are not having the desired effect by the Workers’ Party. So far, 191 deputies and 35 senators maintain their support signatures. The opening requires a minimum of 171 deputies and 27 senators.

Thus, the Bureau of Congress, the body responsible for counting signatures, updated this Tuesday (14) the list of parliamentarians who signed the application by Deputy André Fernandes (PL-CE), filed on February 28.

For this reason, the document ended up highlighting four deputies who sent a formal request to withdraw their endorsement of the CPMI request. They are: José Nelto (PP-GO), Pastor Gil (PL-MA), Chiquinho Brazão (União-RJ), and Célio Silveira (MDB-GO).

The call for withdrawals that may have influenced these four deputies was accompanied by the release of second-level positions by the government. Among the positions are directors and superintendencies of state-owned companies. The main target of the “prizes” offered by the Lula government are representatives of União Brasil.

“CPIs that are mobilized by those who wiped out terrorist acts are not the best instruments to carry out investigations”, said the Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, referring in an adjective and exaggerated way to the condemnable acts of vandalism that occurred in Praça dos Três Powers in January.

List of signatures for the CPMI of January 8 had more adhesions

The current management wants to block the CPMI because it can not only investigate people directly involved in acts of vandalism, but also possible cases of omission by government authorities. Officially, the Planalto argues that the CPMI could delay the analysis of important laws for the country.

Despite this, the defections of the four deputies were compensated by the adhesions of six others: Milton Vieira (Republicanos-SP), Luiz Nishimori (PSD-PR), Junior Lourenço (PR-MA), Celso Russomano (Republicanos-SP), Luciano Vieira (PL-RJ) and Professor Paulo Fernando (Republicanos-DF). They also had to submit a formal and individual application to the Board, as they joined after the application was filed.

Pacheco takes time to schedule meeting on CPMI

At the same time, the president of the Senate and the National Congress, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), resists scheduling the next joint meeting of the two Houses of Parliament, when the CPMI request should be read, if it still has enough support. But, the delay causes embarrassment in parliamentarians and the accumulation of the agenda of the session, which already has 23 presidential vetoes repressed to be appreciated by congressmen.

One of the defectors, José Nelto (PP-GO), has surprised his supporters for having joined the PT attacks against the Central Bank (BC) interest rate policy, personified in the president of the institution, Roberto Campos Neto. He is one of the deputy leaders of the PP in the Chamber, President Arthur Lira’s party (AL), and represented Podemos in the Chamber in the last legislature.

The surprise occurs because his record in Congress shows harmony with the management of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and with Operation Lava Jato. Despite having voted in favor of the arrest of deputy Daniel Silveira (PTB-RJ), in February 2021, Nelto later went on to support his colleague from Rio.

Another CPMI defector, Célio Silveira, who is also from Goiás, is a doctor and former deputy mayor and mayor of the city of Luziânia. He is in his third term in the Chamber and has a political career in different parties.

The press in his state points to him as one of the most likely to take over the Secretary of State for the Surroundings of the Federal District (SEDF), newly created by Governor Ronaldo Caiado (UB). The agency’s objective is to seek partnerships in favor of investments in the infrastructure and well-being of the cities in Goiás that surround Brasilia.

Chiquinho Brazão already supported André Janones

Deputy Chiquinho Brazão is the brother of former deputy Domingos Brazão, who was investigated by the Federal Police for alleged involvement in the murder of councilor Marielle Franco (the investigation was not completed). Domingos Brazão is a member of the Audit Court of the State of Rio de Janeiro (TCE-RJ). He was arrested in one of the phases of Operation Lava Jato in Rio de Janeiro, in 2017. Nine days later, the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) determined that he be released. He was eventually removed from office that year, accused of fraud and corruption. The Rio Court of Justice determined last Tuesday (7) his return to the TCE.

Chiquinho Brazão, one of the defectors from the CPMI, used to belong to the Avante party, which had launched deputy André Janones (MG) as a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic.

Finally, the re-elected deputy Pastor Gil (PL-MA), from the Assembly of God of Maranhão, has been criticized on social networks for having decided to go back in support of the CPMI. Bolsonaro’s party parliamentarian, who in addition to being a religious leader is a journalist, posted photos with the former president during the election period. In the last legislature he was from the PMN.

Lula performs operation to dehydrate CPI request

To try to bury the request for the installation of the mixed CPI, the organizers of the Palácio do Planalto increased the pressure on the governing parties in the National Congress. The expectation of Lula’s allies is that parliamentarians from acronyms such as União Brasil, MDB and PSD withdraw their signatures in the coming days.

In all, 48 federal deputies affiliated with these acronyms, who control nine ministries, signed the request for the creation of the mixed CPI. Of the total, 28 parliamentarians are from the União Brasil, 12 are from the MDB and 8 from the PSD bench.

At the negotiating table, Lula has distributed second-rank positions as a way of pressuring for the withdrawal of signatures. In the case of União Brasil, the government has already indicated that it intends to increase the party’s nominees within the Development Company of the São Francisco and Parnaíba Valleys (Codevasf), in addition to directorates of the Post Office, the National Fund for the Development of Education (FNDE) and the National Department of Works against Droughts (Dnocs).

MDB receives directors of banks and secretariats

For the MDB, Lula distributed at least two directorates of Banco do Nordeste (BNB), a vice-presidency of Caixa Econômica Federal and four secretaries of the Ministry of Cities, which is controlled by Emedebista Jader Filho.

In addition, the party recently appointed Leonardo Picciani as national secretary of Sanitation. The nomination was put together by the leader of the MDB bench in the Chamber, Isnaldo Bulhões (MDB-AL), and by deputy José Priante (MDB-PA).

As for the PSD, Lula intends to give way to nominees from the Chamber’s bench in the Superintendence for the Development of the Northeast (Sudene) and in the Superintendence for the Development of the Amazon (Sudam). In all, the acronym has 42 deputies, who had already indicated to the Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, their dissatisfaction with the government.