government supporters condition the final stretch of work

The Joint Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPMI) of January 8 began this week its second and conclusive phase in the midst of a severe impasse regarding the next steps. The opposition reacted to the prospect of imposition, by the governing majority, of a “controlled outcome”, increasing pressure on the president of the collegiate, deputy Arthur Maia (União Brasil-BA). For parliamentarians and analysts, the impression grows that, like the CPI of the MST, in the Chamber, the CPMI also “ordered its pizza”, popular jargon to describe closure without consistent denunciations.

Everything indicates that Senator Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA), rapporteur for the CPMI, should blame the security forces of the Federal District, and General Marco Gonçalves Dias, former minister of the Institutional Security Office, for acts of vandalism in January 8th.

The duel between the opposing groups overthrew the session on Tuesday (22), even before it opened and left tensions on Thursday (24) even higher. Maia crafted an agreement to approve most of the rapporteur’s new requirements, all aimed at the thesis of a coup d’état led by Jair Bolsonaro (PL), but preserving the former president and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro from summons and breaches of secrecy. This understanding is threatened.

Also on the other hand, the opposition managed to schedule for the following week the testimonies of the former commander of the Military Police of the Federal District Fábio Augusto Vieira, who alleged a lack of federal support to prevent invasions of public buildings, and of the former minister of the GSI Marco Gonçalves Dias, who headed security at the Planalto Palace. Their arrival is seen as essential to highlight the omission of federal authorities – such as Gonçalves Dias himself and the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino – which led to vandalism in Brasília.

The summons by Vieira and Gonçalves Dias were seen by the opposition as a way of silencing their complaints of partiality in the deliberations. After being called on Thursday (24) a “pizzaiolo” by Deputy Maurício Marcon (Podemos-RS), for not taking steps to receive the images of the Palace of Justice, repeatedly denied by Dino, Arthur Maia ruled out favoring the government . But, in protest to Marcon’s harsh criticism, he ordered the more than 800 requests not yet considered. The decision condemns all requests from the opposition to the drawer and expands the government steamroller, reaching targets beyond the CPMI issue.

Opposition wants to resume dialogue with the president of the collegiate

Senators Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) and Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) appealed to the president of the collegiate to go back, but he did not give in. “In the coming days, I will make an effort to build an agenda, which includes testimonials requested by the government and the opposition. If they are placed without an agreement, all the opposition’s requests will be defeated and all the government’s requests will be approved”, declared Maia.

The clash between opposition and government parliamentarians that started on Tuesday stemmed from requests for breaches of secrecy by deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP), among others. In any case, Maia believes she has at least managed to establish a consensus to end the CPMI on October 17, with the reading of Eliziane Gama’s report. He acknowledged that the rapporteur’s work is advanced and that the next nine meetings, considering the week of September 7th as a break, will include the last hearings. The degree of government “control” over the outcome of the CPMI depends on Maia’s withdrawal.

“Deputy Marcon was unfair like the president of the CPMI, he recognized the error and talked to him. For the good of the CPMI, it is important to approve the requests to hear the commander of the National Security Force and Minister Dino, who is the pivot of everything that happened. The government should not be afraid that these people will come and listen to our questions”, said Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).

Jobs are conditioned by pressure from Dino, STF and Army

In order to circumvent external pressures on the CPMI and determine limits for its performance within the institutional context, Arthur Maia had private meetings with Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), and with General Tomás Paiva, commander of the Army. In addition to the Judiciary and the Armed Forces, the commission’s work remains conditioned to pressure from the Planalto, under the leadership among its allied members of Flávio Dino. Close to the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), and a member of the centrão, Maia sought to act in order not to further unbalance the discrepancies of forces in the commission dominated by the governing base, containing excesses.

Despite this, Eliziane Gama, rapporteur and parliamentarian close to Flávio Dino, warned that she has already gathered substantial elements to indict Bolsonaro. She understands that the former president’s action to question the election result created a favorable climate for a supposed military intervention. With a chronology even before the 2022 election campaign, she investigates Bolsonaro’s vaccine card, the alleged embezzlement of jewelry from the presidential collection and suspicions of collusion to wiretap Minister Alexandre de Moraes (STF).

In the chapter on omissions, the rapporteur tends to attribute all the blame to the security forces of the Federal District, including the commanders of the Military Police, former district secretary Anderson Torres, who was Bolsonaro’s Minister of Justice. At the federal level, all responsibility will fall on the shoulders of General Gonçalves Dias, known as GDias and classified as silent even by allied members of the government in the CPMI. His name was formally included in the STF inquiry that investigates the omissions on January 8 in the face of evidence such as leniency in the face of alerts from the intelligence services and adulteration of official reports.

The CPMI also decided on Thursday (24) to recall Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former aide, in addition to breaking the fiscal, telephone and telematic secrecy of Deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP) and three people connected with her. The commission also approved requests to investigate the chartering of buses that transported demonstrators. In all, 57 requests on the agenda were approved in a symbolic vote, of which 51 were authored by the rapporteur and other government supporters.

Senators criticize CPMI agenda hijacking by Planalto

Senator Marcos Rogério (PL-RO) criticized “an unjustified disproportionality” in the assessment of the requests, which was much more favorable to the government. “A good part of their requests has nothing to do with January 8”, he underlined. “We cannot allow this CMPI to become a stage for a political clash outside its scope”, he said.

Senator Izalci Lucas (PSDB-DF) recalled that parliamentary commissions of inquiry have the central role of serving as instruments for impartial investigations. “Despite this, the CPMI of January 8 was hijacked by the government base and is being transformed into theater thanks to the manipulation of the agenda. Why is it not allowed to advance requests for summons and breaches of secrecy from a series of people?”, he noted.

For senator Marcos Pontes (PL-SP), the government occupation of the CPMI “prevents the population from knowing the complete truth”. “The commission was constituted with the purpose of knowing exactly what happened on January 8, no matter who it hurts. It’s not a question of left or right. She was not created to defend herself on one side, simply, ”he noted.

Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) recalled that Minister Flávio Dino himself said that “all actions and omissions referring to that fateful Sunday should be investigated”, including his own. “Why does the government still hide the images from the Ministry of Justice on January 8th? Why doesn’t the CPMI summon the commander of the National Force, who was with his battalion of more than 200 men with their arms crossed in the building while vandals struck terror?”, he questioned.