House approves bill that provides for discrimination against politicians

The Chamber of Deputies approved, this Wednesday (14), Bill 2720/23 that punishes banks for discriminatory acts against politicians in opening accounts and other financial activities. The approved text significantly changed the initial proposal, which was to criminalize any criticism of politicians with prison sentences. There were 252 votes in favor of the measure and 163 against. The proposal goes to the Senate.

The first version of the project, authored by congresswoman Dani Cunha (União Brasil-RJ), proposed a penalty of two to four years in prison and a fine for anyone who criticized a person who was “politically exposed” or who had been denounced and even convicted in processes that had not yet been approved. have passed judgment.

The initial text (see here) was changed by the rapporteur, deputy Claudio Cajado (PP-BA) (read the opinion here). He removed the articles that affected freedom of expression, but kept Article 3, which, without providing for penalties, states that crimes of “discrimination committed due to the condition of a politically exposed person, or a person responding to a preliminary investigation, will be punished. , detailed term, inquiry or any other investigative procedure of criminal, civil or administrative infraction, or of a person who appears in the position of defendant in an ongoing judicial process”.

As it stands, the text can still be used by politicians and officials who feel “discriminated” for being “politically exposed”.

The author of the proposal is the daughter of former deputy Eduardo Cunha (MDB-RJ), who was sentenced to more than 55 years in prison in three corruption cases. On the 29th of May, in the wake of the understanding that dismissed Lula for alleged incompetence of the Justice of Paraná, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) decided to annul a decision that had condemned Eduardo Cunha for receiving bribes in the scope of Lava investigations. Jet.

“Politically exposed” persons are: representatives of the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary powers; presidents and officials of other countries; presidents of political parties; authorities of public or private international law entities, such as the UN, WHO, OAS and NGOs; between others. The relatives of these people would also be shielded by the new law.