Leaders in the Chamber predict difficulty for a project against attacks on presidents – 07/23/2023 – Panel

The Lula government’s (PT) government bills to toughen penalties for crimes against the democratic rule of law, which can reach 40 years in prison in the case of an attempt on the life of authorities, may face difficulty in being approved in the Chamber of Deputies, according to the assessment of House leaders.

The parliamentarians affirm that it is a “sensitive subject”, and that, therefore, the government will have to negotiate and articulate with the deputies. They also say that it is necessary to have the texts in hand to be able to analyze them in more detail.

Projects that toughen punishments in response to the coup attacks on January 8 were announced by the Planalto at an event last Friday (21), almost six months after the Executive announced a “democracy package”. The texts of the proposals, however, were not disclosed.

Among the penalties provided for are 20 to 40 years in prison for crimes that attempt against the lives of the presidents of the three Powers, the vice president of the Republic, ministers of the STF (Federal Supreme Court) and the attorney general of the Republic, with the aim of altering the democratic constitutional order.

The text also provides for a penalty of 6 to 12 years for anyone who violates the physical integrity and freedom of these authorities, also pointing to the purpose of changing the democratic constitutional order.

Such as Sheet showed, the proposal was considered excessive by specialists. The measure received criticism even from the left, among progressive lawyers.

Two deputy leaders of the government in the Chamber say, with reservation, that it will be a very tough dispute within the House to convince the other parliamentarians and that “it will take work” to unlock the progress of the proposal. One of them acknowledges having doubts whether they will be approved.

Leaders also say that, based on the information already released, they consider sentences of 20 to 40 years in prison to be excessive for these crimes. For them, it will be necessary to modulate the text to try to guarantee its approval in plenary.

The parliamentarians also claim that they were not consulted or talked to members of the government about the matters before they were announced.

Members of the PL, former president Jair Bolsonaro’s party, say they will oppose the text – since Friday some have already moved to articulate the bench to bar discussion of the matter. In their assessment, it is a project that could benefit authorities personally, and not as institutional figures.

The president of the PT, Gleisi Hoffmann (PR), says that it is a defense of democracy and institutions, and not of specific people, and says that it will be necessary to articulate in Congress to approve them.

The launch of the package by the federal government comes amid the investigation by the Federal Police into the approach of Brazilians to Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF (Federal Supreme Court), at Rome’s international airport on the last 14th.

A leadership of the centrão assesses, in turn, that the project may be approved by the House, indicating that other matters with similar themes were not resisted. He cites as an example the bill presented by former judge and senator Sergio Moro (União Brasil-PR) that provides for prison sentences for anyone planning an attack or threatening against authorities who fight organized crime.

The project was unanimously approved in May by the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission) of the Senate and went to the Chamber.

Deputies also consider that with the possible entry of the PP and the Republicans in the Esplanada dos Ministérios, the matters of interest to the Planalto will have less difficulty in advancing in the House. The expectation of members of the government is that with this new ministerial organization, the Executive will be able to increase its support base in the Chamber.

The Lula government’s proposals provide, in addition to increasing the penalty for crimes against the democratic rule of law, new rules on the seizure of assets and the blocking of bank accounts in the case of these crimes.

The bill also establishes a penalty of 6 to 12 years in prison for those who organize or lead anti-democratic movements, and 8 to 20 years for those who finance them.

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