Gonet takes office at the PGR with a speech about focusing its activities within the limits of the Constitution

The new Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet Branco, took office this Monday morning (18) less than a week after having his nomination approved by the Senate with 65 votes in favor. He will take over ongoing investigations at the prosecutor’s office against former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), the acts of January 8, among others, but without signaling how he should act with these processes.

During the inauguration ceremony, Gonet highlighted the need to seek and maintain harmony between the Three Powers and for the institution to be “unshakable” to external attacks, having the “audacity” to prove itself fair and correct. He also highlighted that the PGR’s work will only focus on the limits of the Constitution without media involvement.

“In our technical action, we do not seek a stage or spotlight, but, with fearlessness, we must be faithful and complete to what the constituent delegates to us and the democratic legislator grants us. We must be unwavering in the face of attacks from opposing interests and constant in the face of the effervescence of light opinions”, said Gonet.

The inauguration was attended by, among others, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), who made the nomination; vice-president Geraldo Alckmin; ministers Alexandre de Moraes and Gilmar Mendes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF); retired minister Marco Aurélio Melo; minister Flávio Dino, who takes up a vacancy on the Court in February, among others.

Gonet said, upon reading the term of commitment for the position, that he intends to “defend the constitution, the legal order and the democratic regime”. The new Attorney General of the Republic will have a two-year mandate, replacing interim Attorney Elizeta Ramos after Augusto Aras left the position.

Lula criticizes the press and says he will not ask for a favor

Lula stated, soon after, that he was thrilled to return to the PGR for having been a constituent deputy and for giving the Public Ministry the “stature it deserved” due to the attribution given to it by the Constitution.

“I just wanted to ask you one thing: the Public Ministry is such a large institution that no prosecutor has the right to play with it. […] A prosecutor cannot submit to the President of the Republic, the Chamber, the Senate and other Powers, nor to newspaper and TV headlines. The only thing I ask of you is that you only have one concern: that the truth prevails above any other interest,” he said.

Lula stated that one should not condemn someone in advance with “flippant accusations that do not strengthen democracy”, not allow any accusation to be published “without knowing the truth” and that lead to the prior conviction of a person who, often, does not have the conditions to be acquitted.

“There was a moment in this country when allegations in the headlines spoke louder than those in the case files. And when that happens, if you deny politics, what comes next is always worse than politics”, highlighted Lula.

The president emphasized that “there is no possibility of the Public Ministry thinking that every politician is corrupt. It is a concept that was created in Brazilian society that any complaint against any politician is based on the assumption that it is true. And it’s not always.”

“If we want to avoid adventures like the one that happened in this country on January 8th, […] the MP needs to really play the game”, he added, praising Gonet after having spoken to several people, and promised that he will never ask him for personal favors.

“I will never exert any personal pressure on the Public Ministry so that something is not investigated. The only thing I ask of you: do not make the MP diminish itself in the face of the expectations of 200 million Brazilians who believe in this institution. […] Be as tough and as fair as possible with Brazilian society”, he pointed out.

Gonet avoided some topics during the hearing

During the hearing that took place before the approval of the nomination, Gonet was heavily asked about how he would act in the processes involving the former president and in the fake news investigation, but he avoided commenting because he did not have in-depth knowledge of the case. He was also charged with matters of customs due to his profile known as conservative and “ultra-Catholic”.

In one of the questions, he stated that he was personally in favor of the rights of homosexual couples, but said that, on the professional side, he is based on the decisions taken by the Supreme Court and Congress.

On the other hand, he stated that the right to freedom of expression “is not complete and must be modulated”.

Between 2021 and 2023, Gonet held the role of deputy electoral attorney general. He was responsible for presenting opinions favorable to the ineligibility of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) during the trials at the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

Gonet also spoke out for Bolsonaro’s ineligibility in the actions regarding the acts of September 7, 2022. In October, the former president and his then candidate for vice, Walter Braga Netto, were condemned to ineligibility for alleged electoral use of the Bicentennial celebration of Independence.