Flávio Dino collects impeachment requests and controversies

The appointment of the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Flávio Dino, to fill a vacancy on the Federal Supreme Court (STF) provoked several reactions, especially from the opposition to the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). Among the criticisms made against the minister range from episodes related to his performance during the events of January 8th to more recent controversies, such as the case of the “drug lady”, who was received by secretaries of the ministry’s portfolio. Dino also collects a series of impeachment requests for not appearing in summons made by the Chamber of Deputies and statements questioned by the opposition.

Soon after Lula took office, Dino’s performance was put to the test in the events of January 8th. When asked about his presence in the Ministry of Justice building during the demonstrations, Dino denied that he was there.

Furthermore, he sent images from only four of the 185 cameras that make up the Palace of Justice’s monitoring circuit. And this only occurred after successive requests made by the opposition in the Joint Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPMI) on January 8th.

In response, Dino argued that they would not have even been stored due to a contractual problem. “The same problem happened in the Senate. It’s a contractual problem. I did not know that. I’m not a contract manager, I’m the Minister of Justice. The Federal Police came here and collected what they needed. I only now found out which images the PF collected. I don’t know about the investigation, everything is under secrecy,” he declared.

At CPMI, Dino was shielded by the government majority, especially by the rapporteur, senator Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA), a political ally of the minister. She even dedicated part of her report to refute the suspicion of omission by the Minister of Justice and direct the responsibility for inaction in acts of vandalism at the headquarters of the Three Powers to the governor of the Federal District, Ibaneis Rocha (MDB).

Dino’s controversial performance led to calls for impeachment

In just over ten months of government, the Minister of Justice has accumulated at least four impeachment requests for his actions at the head of the department and, in particular, for his absence in calls made by parliamentarians. The opposition to the government submitted the requests to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), which has no deadline to evaluate them and forward, or not, the complaints to the STF.

The minister’s first impeachment request was filed in May. At the time, the opposition alleged abuse of authority when Dino threatened to initiate investigative proceedings against Google. The threat was motivated by the company’s demonstration against the Bill of Law on Fake News (PL 2,630/2020), which has not yet been analyzed by the Chamber of Deputies. The National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon), a body that is part of the Ministry of Justice, imposed on the big tech a fine of R$ 1 million per hour if it kept a link highlighted on its home page that referred to a company article contrary to the approval of the PL of Fake News.

In another impeachment request, Dino is accused of having insinuated that the Federal Police were under his control. During the inauguration of the Minister of Sports, André Fufuca (PP-MA), Dino told his new colleague from Esplanada: “I don’t have money, but now I have the police.” Although the Federal Police is subordinate to the department he commands, in the opinion of opponents, the minister would have pointed out a possible political use of the security forces.

When defending himself against the accusations, the minister claimed that the speech had been taken out of context and that he was referring to a security program in stadiums, which should be developed in partnership with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

This, however, was not the only time that the minister suggested some type of interference in the actions of the Federal Police. At the beginning of September, when speaking alongside President Lula, Dino said that the PF would be “at the service of the ’cause’ of Lula and Brazil”.

The other two impeachment requests were presented due to the minister’s absence in summons made by the Public Security Commission.

Although the requests were presented to the PGR, the STF is the body responsible for judging crimes of responsibility against ministers. To date, there are no records of convictions.

Facts linked to freedom of expression weigh against Dino in the STF

In addition to the case involving Google, which led to a request for impeachment, Dino is also accused of not respecting the right to freedom of expression and disseminating misinformation at other times. One of the most emblematic cases occurred during a meeting between the Minister of Justice and representatives of big techs. Dino would have threatened these companies if they did not change the terms of use to adapt to the new government control guidelines.

Dino also insinuated that “freedom of expression as an absolute value” had been “buried” in Brazil. “This time of self-regulation, the absence of regulation, freedom of expression as an absolute value, which is a fraud, which is a scam, this time is over in Brazil. He finished. This was buried. Be definitively clear about this. If you do not provide answers that we consider appropriate and appropriate, we will take the measures that the law determines”, said the minister in an excerpt from the meeting that went viral on social media in May this year, a month after the meeting with the companies.

The minister also blocked several of his opponents on social media after criticism. At least nine people, including parliamentarians, activists and even a journalist from People’s Gazette have already been blocked by Dino on X, formerly Twitter. The action prevents those blocked from seeing the minister’s publications and making comments. The conduct was already adopted a few times by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) during his term, and he was intensely criticized by the then opposition to his government.

One of the cases in which Dino spread misinformation occurred when he associated weapons with violence in Bahia. “Unfortunately, criminal organizations have become much stronger in recent years, they have increased access to weapons throughout Brazil, due to a wrong policy in our country,” said Dino.

Experts consulted by People’s Gazettein September, assessed that the war between criminal factions in the northeastern state was the main factor in the conflict and not the weapons policy of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Visit to Complexo da Maré and “trafficking lady” at the ministry

In March, a visit by Dino to Complexo da Maré, favelas run by criminal factions in Rio de Janeiro, also generated reactions. A video from the day of the visit showed the arrival of the minister and advisors in two official cars accompanied by some men who did not display weapons. The episode generated criticism and questions regarding the ease with which he and his entourage entered Complexo da Maré. Police officers told the reporter that such an action would be impossible without the approval of the drug trafficker.

According to the Ministry of Justice, unidentified members of the PF, as well as members of the Federal Highway Police (PRF), the state’s Military Police and Civil Police, would have participated in the minister’s security.

Recently, the disclosure of agendas carried out by Luciane Barbosa Farias, known as the “Amazonian drug lady”, member of the criminal faction Comando Vermelho, also shook the department commanded by Flávio Dino. According to an investigation carried out by the newspaper The State of S. Paulothe “drug lady” was reportedly received twice this year by the minister’s advisors, at the Ministry of Justice and Public Security building, in Brasília.

The Ministry of Justice admitted that the “citizen”, as Luciene was referred to, was in fact received by minister Flávio Dino’s secretaries, as part of a delegation and that, therefore, it would have been impossible for the intelligence sector to have detected her presence.

But the opposition in the Chamber demands clarifications from Dino and approved four invitations to appear before the Financial Inspection and Control Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. Parliamentarians also criticized the lack of transparency in the meetings between the department’s secretaries and Luciane Barbosa Farias, who is the wife of a PCC leader and has already been convicted in the second instance for criminal organization, money laundering and association for drug trafficking.

Dino says he already has enough votes to reach the STF, but rejection in the Senate could get in the way

Dino needs the support of at least 41 of the 81 senators to reach the STF. Matter of People’s Gazette showed that the history of approval of STF ministers by the Senate works in his favor, but the setbacks and controversies generated by his appointment could make this process difficult. The opposition promises its commitment to try to block the nomination of the Minister of Justice to the Supreme Court.

In addition to the points mentioned above, Dino’s media stance, weak performance, especially in the area of ​​security, and disrespect towards Congress are issues that have left the Legislature bitter and could make it difficult to approve his name for the STF. Added to this is the climate of tension between the Powers, which gained momentum after the approval, last week, of Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 8/2021, which limits the individual powers of the Court’s ministers.

Even in the face of all these elements, Dino was confident that his name will be approved for the STF by the senators. On Wednesday (29), he stated that he already has enough votes to have his nomination to the Supreme Court approved by the senators in the hearing on December 13th. The count took place a few hours after the efforts to obtain the support of parliamentarians officially began – the well-known “kiss-hand”.