Lula promises autonomy to Lewandowski, but PT remains – 01/11/2024 – Power

President Lula (PT) announced, this Thursday (11), the retired minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) Ricardo Lewandowski as his future Minister of Justice and promised the chosen one autonomy to form his team in the department.

The retired Supreme Court minister will have time to form his team. Lula stated that the decree appointing the new Minister of Justice will be published on January 19th, but that the inauguration will only take place on February 1st. Until then, Flávio Dino (PSB) will continue to lead the department, during the transition period.

The agent said that the appointment date was a request from Lewandowski “because of particular things he has to do”.

Among other work after leaving the Supreme Court, Lewandowski was hired by the J&F group, owned by brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista, to act in a billion-dollar dispute that the conglomerate is waging with the multinational Paper Excellence over the sale of Eldorado Celulose.

Dino will leave Esplanada to take office as minister of the STF. He worked to try to keep the current executive secretary of Justice, Ricardo Cappelli, in his post, but was unsuccessful. The PSB, party of Dino and vice-president Geraldo Alckmin, had been pushing to maintain secretariats in the portfolio or even the creation of the Ministry of Public Security, under the command of a party nominee.

“I, if I were a football coach, would not allow the president of my team, no matter how important he was, to join my team”, declared Lula, when announcing the new minister.

“I’m the one who chooses my team. If I lose, they’ll take me out. If I win, I’ll continue.” The PT member also declared that First Lady Rosângela da Silva, known as Janja, will demand Lewandowski for the appointment of women to the portfolio.

Lewandowski has pointed out in conversations that the area of ​​public security will be his biggest challenge as head of the department.

People close to us indicate that the future head of Justice has expressed concern about the seriousness of the problem and promises a firm stance in the fight against crime. In the words of an interlocutor, the guarantee that marked his career in the Judiciary will not be confused with a lack of order in his tenure in the ministry.

Allies are betting on his conciliatory profile to negotiate with governors, including those from the opposition, to adopt joint actions.

The bridges established with the political class during his period as president of the Superior Electoral Court can also pave the way for connections in Congress, according to allies.

Public security has generated strain on the Lula government, mainly due to crises in the area in states such as Bahia —governed by the PT— and Rio de Janeiro.

Lewandowski should take to the ministry names that accompanied him on his path to the Judiciary. The first confirmed, according to allies, is Ana Neves, who was his chief of staff at the STF and should perform the same role in the ministry.

Bahian lawyer Manoel Carlos de Almeida Neto is also seen as certain in the portfolio. He was already an advisor to the new minister, with whom he has been close for more than two decades, and had his name defended by him to succeed him at the STF after his retirement. Lula, however, opted for his lawyer at the time, now minister Cristiano Zanin.

Currently legal director of Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, Manoel Carlos is the one who has been talking to interlocutors on Lewandowski’s behalf, in the effort to assemble a team.

According to reports, two other former assistants are also in the same venture: lawyer and professor Georghio Tomelin, and judge Luis Geraldo Lanfredi, from São Paulo.

Appointed as the future minister’s right-hand man, Tomelin should also occupy a relevant position in the second tier. Just like Manoel Carlos, his name is mentioned for the executive secretariat (in this case, the first could go to the National Secretariat of Justice).

Despite helping Lewandowski, Lanfredi is young in the judiciary and should not leave it for the Executive, according to people close to him.

The current head of the special advisory department of the Institutional Relations Secretariat, Jean Uema, also appears to be in line to take on a post in the new ministry, in this case the Secretariat of Legislative Affairs

A career civil servant and judicial analyst at the STF, Uema has a master’s degree in State law from PUC-SP and was a parliamentary advisor to the PT in Congress.

Although the future minister promises technical management, there will be party names and a large part will be linked to the PT. In addition to Uema, the expectation is that former federal deputy Wadih Damous (PT-RJ) will continue to head the national Consumer Secretariat, at Lula’s request.

According to interlocutors, the head of Justice will be the last chapter of Lewandowski’s public career, so there is great pressure to deliver a prominent administration. There is an understanding that the public security crisis is urgent and the issue has generated apprehension among Lula’s assistants.

A Datafolha survey in December pointed to security as the second topic of greatest concern for Brazilians. In the same survey, 50% of voters rated Lula’s administration in this field as bad or terrible, compared to 29% as fair and 20% as excellent or good.

Precisely because of the understanding of the importance of the topic, Senasp (National Public Security Secretariat) is today considered one of the main secretariats in the future ministry.

One name mentioned is that of the former police ombudsman of the State of São Paulo and founder of the PT, Benedito Mariano. He has not yet spoken to Lewandowski, but the expectation is that this will happen next week.

He is currently Secretary of Public Security in Diadema (SP). In October, Mariano even criticized the Lula government’s security program.

As shown by Sheetin a year marked by episodes of violence and cases of police lethality, the Lula government’s management of public security faced crises, disjointed actions and unfulfilled promises.

Throughout the year, the federal government launched numerous programs to combat violence, but experts point to a dispersion of actions and the lack of a systematic vision of the role of the federal government.

Members of the Ministry of Justice under Dino highlight the implementation of Susp (Single Public Security System), whose legislation was approved in 2018. Security experts say, however, that Susp has not yet been put into practice in the way the law establishes — a new management structure, in which the action plan must be developed in collaboration with states and municipalities.