increases pressure against Moraes

After the death of Cleriston Pereira da Cunha, aged 46, who had a sudden illness while sunbathing at the Papuda Penitentiary Complex, in Brasília, where he was imprisoned for alleged participation in the acts of January 8, deputies and senators decided to intensify the pressure for the impeachment of the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the process, and for the installation of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) into the Abuse of Authority. The objective of the CPI is to investigate the performance of the Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

The pressure against abuses carried out by Supreme Court ministers includes a demonstration on Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo (SP), next Sunday (26), to protest against the death of Cleriston, in a rehearsal of returning to the streets after the episode of 8 of January.

In reaction to the STF’s activism and Moraes’ lack of attitude, who even ignored requests from the Public Ministry for the release of Cleriston, who had comorbidities resulting from Covid-19, the deputies and senators are finalizing the text of the minister’s impeachment request, which should be presented soon to the president of the Federal Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).

At the same time, deputies also reinforced the search for signatures for the opening of the CPI on Abuse of Authority, proposed by deputy Marcel Van Hatten (Novo-RS). The measure was presented in the last legislature, without being installed, and ended up being resumed this year, still with some resistance in the Chamber of Deputies. Until this Friday (24), opposition parliamentarians had 152 signatures out of the 171 required to file the CPI request.

Representative Marcel Van Hatten, who also heads the request for impeachment of Minister Moraes, said that “Fora Moraes” will be the priority of his mandate. “It is high time for the Senate to deliberate on requests for impeachment of STF ministers,” he stated. According to Van Hatten, approximately 80 parliamentarians have already committed to this agenda, which, in the parliamentarian’s view, “is the number one agenda in Brazil, it is the desire of the Brazilian people”.

CPI on Abuse of Power: deputies seek signatures to investigate judicial excesses

Deputy Maurício Marcon (PL-RS), deputy leader of the Opposition in the Chamber of Deputies, is another on the front line to ensure that the CPI on Abuse of Authority is installed as soon as possible. According to him, the offensive to convince “colleagues” to support the CPI even includes the publication of the names of deputies who are reluctant to sign the request, many for fear of “clashing” with the Federal Supreme Court.

For Marcon, the objective of the CPI is to show the frequent abuses that have been committed by the Judiciary in Brazil, as in the case of the death of Cleriston himself, Clezão, as he was known. “We consider that nothing more serious than an innocent dying can happen, that was his case, he was working, he arrived [na Esplanada dos Ministérios] after [os atos de vandalismo]had several requests for freedom, [mas] There was no time to pay attention to those who didn’t have a good lawyer. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time”, lamented the parliamentarian. With the necessary signatures and the legal requirements for installation met, the parliamentarian believes that the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), will not be able to oppose the majority of deputies.

Deputy Delegate Palumbo (MDB-SP) told People’s Gazette that parliamentarians “are not satisfied with the STF’s attitudes”, and the population demands a response from Parliament. For him, the commission has not been installed yet because there are still many deputies afraid of “going head to head” with Supreme Court ministers, for fear of lawsuits and retaliation.

Request for impeachment of Supreme Court minister must be analyzed by the Senate

As only the Federal Senate can open an impeachment process against ministers of the Federal Supreme Court, the deputies will personally deliver the request to the President of the House, Rodrigo Pacheco, based on article 39 of Law 1079/1950, which says that “they are crimes under the responsibility of ministers of the Federal Supreme Court: being patently negligent (negligent) in carrying out the duties of the position”. They assess that the case of Cleriston Pereira da Cunha fits this issue, as he had serious health problems, received several medical treatments in prison and died in Papuda, without any proof of guilt for the acts of depredation on January 8th.

Representative Marcel Van Hatten, who heads the impeachment movement against Moraes, said he expects action from the Senate. For him, the minister’s impeachment is inevitable. “We are not talking about parties, coups and narratives, we are talking about lives that are being lost. The Senate needs to make the STF return to its square, and those who abused their authority are brought to justice”, he states.

Senator Magno Malta (PL-ES) is yet another parliamentarian who believes that the Supreme Court minister should be removed from office. “The country is being led by a man, it is time to ask for this man’s impeachment,” he said, referring to Alexandre de Moraes.

The Federal Constitution says that it is up to the Senate to judge requests for impeachment against STF ministers, and that any citizen can present this petition to the Board of Directors, as long as the minister is invested in the position and that the process contains documents that prove the alleged crime. Once the request is presented, the president of the Senate must read the complaint in plenary, and then a special committee is formed with 21 senators, which has ten days to prepare a preliminary opinion, just to evaluate the complaint.

If the report accepts the complaint, it goes to the plenary, and needs 41 votes to move forward. If it is decided to initiate the process, it returns to the special commission and the accused has ten days to respond to the accusations. After that, the Senate will give its opinion, within 15 days, on whether the accusation is valid or unfounded.

If the final opinion passes the scrutiny of the senators, the accused minister will have to leave office until the final sentence is reached, and will lose a third of his salary while the process continues. If the final opinion is approved by the committee, then the process goes to the plenary, and needs 54 votes, or two thirds of the senators, to be approved.

Despite the efforts and the hope that Pacheco will continue with the impeachment process against the minister, most parliamentarians doubt that the president of the Senate will continue the process against Moraes, who has already been the target of other requests in the House.

An alternative, in this case, would be the CPI for Abuse of Power or Abuse of Authority. But this commission is unlikely to be installed in the Chamber of Deputies in 2023, as there is less than a month left until the parliamentary recess, and the Congress agenda is filled with matters on the federal government’s economic agenda, which seeks to increase revenue to meet the target. zero deficit.

Pec that limits monocratic decisions is approved in the Senate and goes to the Chamber

Considered by many as one of the main responses by parliamentarians to what they call “judicial activism”, the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution 08/2021, authored by senator Oriovisto Guimarães (Podemos – PR), was approved by the Senate plenary by 52 votes , to limit the monocratic decisions of STF ministers.

The proposal advanced after obstruction initiated by opposition parliamentarians and benches from different sectors, led by Agro, in response to the overturning of the time frame by Supreme Court ministers, in a matter that had already been decided by the National Congress.

The PEC was approved in record time by the Senate Constitution and Justice Committee, shortly after the start of the cross-party movement that prevented and delayed votes in Congress, and approved by the Plenary this week even with the vote of the government leader, Senator Jacques Wagner ( PT-BA), which led to criticism of the parliamentarian’s performance even by Supreme Court ministers.

The president of the STF, Luís Roberto Barroso, opened the Court’s session on Thursday (23) with criticism of the approval of the PEC, and was followed by the dean of the court, minister Gilmar Mendes, who spared no criticism of Parliament’s actions.

The president of the Senate countered and stated that the Court’s reaction was “disproportionate” and said that he would not admit “that anyone wants to politicize” the issue. Pacheco also said that he was “attacked” by STF ministers, but that the Senate has civic courage.

Amid the tension between the powers, the proposal will now go to the Chamber of Deputies for evaluation, where it must be analyzed by the Constitution and Justice Committee and a Special Committee. Behind the scenes, parliamentarians believe that Lira will not have the same rush adopted by Pacheco in analyzing the matter, and that the matter will be postponed until 2024.

At the same time, the president of the Chamber could try to move forward with a bill created based on suggestions from a commission of jurists, led by the dean of the STF himself, Gilmar Mendes, to “soften” what was decided in the PEC itself, and thus allowing Supreme Court ministers to continue adopting monocratic decisions. The measure is under analysis at the CCJ.

Parliamentarians call for demonstration in honor of Cleriston

The indignation of deputies and senators with the “neglect” and “delay” of the Federal Supreme Court in analyzing the Cleriston case will be taken to the streets this Sunday (26).

Parliamentarians are using social media to call a demonstration on Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo (SP), to honor Cleriston, and also to mark their discontent with the actions of the STF and Minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the case.

In the video circulating on social media from several right-wing politicians, they invite the population to return to the streets in memory of Cleriston and in defense of the Democratic Rule of Law.

The demonstration has the support of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), and will bring together parliamentarians such as Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO), Marcel Van Hatten (Novo-RS), Paulo Bilynskyj (PL-SP), Carla Zambelli (PL-SP ), Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) and others. The meeting is scheduled for 2 pm this Sunday.