Joint hearing, funds and secret vote facilitate Dino’s trip to the STF

Planalto negotiators recognize that additional efforts had to be made to ensure the probable approval in the Senate of the nomination of the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, to the Federal Supreme Court (STF). On the morning of this Wednesday (13), he will be questioned and shortly afterwards his name will be put to a vote in the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ), in an unprecedented joint session with the hearing of another authority, the one indicated to be the prosecutor -General of the Republic (PRG), Paulo Gonet. Afterwards, his names must be screened by the 81 senators, in a secret vote, requiring at least 41 votes in favor to be confirmed.

To overcome resistance to Dino’s political profile and mitigate animosity that he provoked among parliamentarians during his tumultuous time at the Ministry of Justice, coordination between government supporters and the presidents of both the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), and the CCJ was necessary. , Davi Alcolumbre (Uniao Brasil-AP).

Behind the scenes, even members of the opposition already admit the victory of President Luiz Inácio Lua da Silva’s (PT) minister in both votes and find it very difficult to overcome a total of votes against above 39.

Of the 41 senators who did not reveal their voting intention, it is known that more than half are inclined to support Dino. The government estimates that Dino will have between 48 and 53 votes in plenary. But Alcolumbre, who acts as the main electoral leader behind the scenes, estimates that it is possible to get close to 60 votes. This would be a way to strengthen his candidacy to return to the Senate Presidency in 2025.

With political agreements between senators and the government triggered shortly after the announcement of Lula’s nomination, at the end of November, after two months of speculation, an agile and highly controlled process for its approval was guaranteed. The format of the double hearing session aimed to restrict the actions of senators opposed to the nomination and avoid giving rise to delays or setbacks.

Senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE) promises to present a point of order to the CCJ against the simultaneous hearing of Gonet and Dino, claiming that the decision of the president of the collegiate to hear both at the same time is unconstitutional, as it violates principles of efficiency, proportionality and reasonableness. The immediate effects would be block responses, with less time for questions and answers with the expected depth.

The simultaneous hearing at the CCJ was implemented at the end of November during the choice of ten nominees for the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and the National Council of the Public Ministry (CNMP). It also occurred in October, when three names were nominated to the Supreme Court of Justice (STJ).

Amapá, from Alcolumbre, received funds after the hearing date

This orchestration to facilitate the forwarding of Dino’s nomination also included agreements to release funds to states represented by the most influential leaders among Dino’s voters in the hearing at the CCJ and in the plenary, starting with Alcolumbre himself. In the three days following the announcement of the date for the hearing, the government committed R$73.9 million to Amapá. Only on Thursday (7) there were R$55.4 million, the fourth largest release of the year.

Finally, the Minister of Justice will also benefit from the secret vote, the same one that has always helped to confirm nominations for the Supreme Court. Since the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution, all nominations of Presidents of the Republic to the Supreme Court have been vetted by the Senate without any major difficulties. All 28 ministers nominated over this period were approved.

The nomination that obtained the tightest score since redemocratization was that of former Minister of Justice André Mendonça, who also did not have the good will of Alcolumbre. He received 47 votes in favor and 32 against. In the entire 133-year history of the Court, only five nominations were rejected, all in 1894.

Leonardo Barreto, director at Vector Government Relations, assesses that the choice of names for the STF is closely linked to the power game in the Republic. To guess the criteria used in this mission, he suggests trying to identify which desires, fears and alliance strategies drive the head of the Executive. “Based on this premise, it is possible to understand how Dino’s appointment is linked to the objective of reinforcing the fight against Bolsonarism, the main agenda that unites Lula and the STF ministers, in addition to reinforcing the Judiciary as a protagonist of public policies”, he said.

Dino’s campaign sought to soften his political image

In his campaign to increase the number of supporters in plenary, Dino visited offices in the Senate and participated in dinners with parliamentarians. In all these moments and in interviews he focused on the strategy of deconstructing the image of an active politician, especially on the left. For the group that has the greatest resistance to his name, represented by the Evangelical Front, he tried to make direct contact, but it was not possible due to the lack of will of its 15 members and the compromised agenda of the senators in general.

Reinforcing the image of a “practicing Catholic”, to counteract that of an “anti-Christian communist” exploited by his opponents, Dino met on Friday (8) with the board of directors of the National Confederation of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), which signaled support .

This Tuesday (12), the eve of the joint hearing, scheduled to start at 9am on Wednesday, the minister concentrated his contacts within the ritual called “kiss hand” with members of the largest bench in the Senate, the PSD, and the third , the MDB, both government-owned.

For Dino, asking for a favorable vote from senators became a more difficult task than, for example, Cristiano Zanin, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) first nominee in his third term, despite his notorious bias, as the president’s personal lawyer. . In the end, he received 58 votes in favor and 18 against.

Opposition will try to harass Dino with harsh questions

If Dino continues to follow the guidance of his government strategists and operators, he should continue to avoid sparking controversy during the hearing, with calm and bureaucratic reactions, very different from the “seals” he carried out in public hearings in the Chamber and the Senate. Among the questions that the opposition reserved to ask him, exploring contradictions and controversies, is his role in politics and in the acts of January 8th, in Brasília, which suggest omission with the invasions and depredations of public buildings.

Shielded by the Joint Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on January 8, Dino will be questioned directly about the disappearance of images from dozens of security cameras at the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice and about the inaction of the National Force.

Other questions involve the investigation that was in the hands of retired minister Rosa Weber and that Dino could take on in the STF involving the Minister of Communications, Juscelino Filho, for alleged diversion of public money in works supported by parliamentary amendments at Codevasf, a state-owned company commanded by the centrão.

The nominee for the Supreme Court will also have to answer about the reception at the Ministry of Justice of Luciane Barbosa Farias, married to Clemilson dos Santos Farias, one of the main criminals in Amazonas, known as “Uncle Patinhas”. She met with the department’s secretary of Legislative Affairs, Elias Vaz, in March, and with Rafael Velasco, national secretary of Penal Policies, in May.

Older cases involving his work as deputy and governor, in addition to allegations made by the construction company Odebrecht, in a request for an investigation that ended up being archived, should also be raised.