new chapter of Lava Jato dismantling

The unanimous decision of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to revoke the mandate of federal deputy Deltan Dallagnol (Podemos-PR) had a significant impact on the political scene, with protests by parliamentarians and movements linked to anti-corruption actions. On the other hand, critics of the alleged excesses of Lava Jato and former targets of the operation celebrate the outcome of the trial.

With the history of resistance in the legal and political circles against Lava Jato, the recent reaction by the TSE is being seen by analysts and politicians as a new chapter in the dismantling of the operation, after a series of revisions of convictions in court and loosening of legislation.

Reactions from opposition deputies suggest political persecution against parliamentarians. In addition to stating this, Kim Kataguiri (União Brasil-SP) said that Dallagnol’s judgment reflects a country that punishes those who fight corruption. He also criticized the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) shared the same view about the court’s intentions in the case, questioning whether the idea was just to silence opponents. Bia Kicis (PL-DF) lamented the “profound contempt of the members of the Judiciary and of certain politicians for the value of the vote”, noting that respect for the popular will seems to be given only to allies of the “system”. Mario Frias (PL-SP) recalled that the impeachment came from a “PT request”.

Other deputies preferred to exploit the excess of rigor in the interpretation of the law. For Evair Melo (PP-ES), there was a shameful excess of zeal, the same that was not observed for President Lula and his ministers. “The TSE is doing the country a disservice, not least because the impeachment applicant is the PT”, he said. In addition to them, Zé Trovão (PL-SC) also questioned the merits of the decision. “What are they (TSE) wanting? Legal and institutional instability?”, he provoked.

In turn, the command of the two Houses of Congress and the majority of party leaders avoided contesting or even commenting on the TSE’s radical measure against Dallagnol, either because they agreed with the punishment of an alleged “criminalization of politics” associated with Lava Jato, or because of the fear of being reached by the same attacks against sympathizers of the operation based in Curitiba.

On the Senate floor, Hamilton Mourão (Republicanos-RS) demanded from the President of Congress, Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), the immediate interdiction of Dallagnol’s impeachment. He criticized the TSE’s decision and said it was “illegitimate” and “evidence of the endless arbitrariness that the country faces”. Mourão expressed his concern about the inaction of the parties and the direction of the Senate in the face of “acts that violate rights”.

The senator and former vice-president of the Republic also highlighted the “astonishment of society” at the persecution of those responsible for unraveling “the biggest case of corruption in history”, attributing such persecution to “the desire for revenge by the President of the Republic himself”. Mourão stated that the impeachment of the deputy’s mandate is “a fatal blow to the people’s last hope for democracy, represented by their political expression at the ballot box”.

There were also indications of measures to avoid expressions of solidarity with the impeached deputy and criticism of the judicial decision, as evidenced by the decision of the president of the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), to cancel the session scheduled for this Wednesday.

He alleged a lack of quorum, but members of the CCJ stated that the action was aimed at preventing demonstrations such as that of Sergio Moro (União Brasil-PR), former Lava Jato judge, which would inevitably provoke heated debate over the TSE decision.

Lira says that the TSE decision will be analyzed by the Internal Affairs of the Chamber

The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), said that the loss of Dallagnol’s mandate will be analyzed by the Internal Affairs of the House. The procedures are regulated by Act of the Bureau 37/09, informed the Chamber Agency.

“The Board will follow what determines this act: the Chamber has to be summoned, the Board will inform the corregidor, the corregidor will give the deputy a deadline, the deputy defends himself and so on”, said Lira during the plenary session.

The president of the Chamber responded to a point of order from Deputy Maurício Marcon (Podemos-RS), for whom the Chamber should rule on the decision of the Electoral Justice. “The mandate must be annulled only by this House”, he said. The Constitution guarantees deputies impeached by the Electoral Court the right to full defense within the Chamber of Deputies.

According to the Constitution, the loss of mandate will be declared by the Board of the respective House, ex officio or upon provocation, full defense being ensured. The Act of the Board guarantees the target representative of representation a period of five working days for the manifestation. When the representation is based on an act of the Electoral Justice, it is only up to the corregidor to deal with the formal aspects of the judicial decision.

Dallagnol interpreted the TSE’s decision as “an act of retaliation against efforts to fight corruption”. His party, Podemos, said it will spare no efforts to defend the deputy, noting that Parliament is losing.

Although he can appeal to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), after the execution of the decision by the TRE of Paraná, there is a consensus that the reversal is extremely unlikely, not least because three of the seven ministers who condemned him in the TSE belong to the STF.

There is doubt whether the TSE’s decision makes Dallagnol ineligible, since the loss of mandate occurred due to the annulment of the candidacy, which would allow him to run in the next elections.

Moro is seen as the likely next target of an impeachment

Based on opinions issued by renowned jurists, such as Professor Horácio Neiva, from the University of São Paulo (USP), politicians consider that the TSE has abandoned the limited reading of the ineligibility rules, leaving room for more flexible interpretations. With that, the most heard comment inside and outside Congress since Tuesday (16) is that Senator Sergio Moro (União Brasil-PR) would be the next victim of an alleged persecution of car washers. In his case, the impeachment of the mandate under evaluation by the Electoral Court was requested by the PL, which accuses him of alleged slush funds and abuse of economic power in the campaign for the Senate. As a witness, the former judge appointed Dallagnol.

Last year, Moro spoke out about the request for the impeachment of the PL. According to him, “bad losers” decided to “work for the PT and for the corrupt”. “For my part, I fear nothing, because I know the fairness of my elections. Now, it’s amazing that there are people who can be so short. What they don’t get at the ballot box, they try on the mat,” he wrote.

For analysts close to the political game, the perception of exchange between parliamentarians and members of the courts to guarantee self-protection and seek stability in their prerogatives has produced setbacks against Lava Jato in decisions by the Legislative and Judiciary. Moro has sought to improve his communication channels and partnerships in Congress, where he has always suffered resistance from the political class.

On the other hand, they also assess that the perception of a political and legal world united in the effort to remove Dallagnol’s mandate and advance in the dismantling of Lava Jato can reinforce the criticism of the TSE and the STF. The quick vote and without debate would denote profiling in a specific case and indicative of others that may fit the same political bias. In the symbolic field, situations associated with Minister Benedito Gonçalves, rapporteur of the case against Dallagnol at the TSE, receiving caresses from President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) during diplomacy and reacting with “mission given is mission accomplished” still corroborate with such interpretations.

“In 1 minute and 6 seconds, after reading the rapporteur’s vote, the TSE, unanimously, annulled Deltan Dallagnol’s mandate. Was it a fair trial? In democracy, all these questions must be made to the higher courts”, pondered Senator Oriovisto Guimarães (Podemos-PR).

Political developments from the trial are still awaited

Dallagnol’s impeachment will have additional consequences, according to Ibmec-DF professor Eduardo Galvão. Although the expert considers the TSE’s decision correct, he recalls that one cannot ignore the symbolic aspect that the parliamentarian represents for society and the political environment. “Dallagnol is an icon of the Lava Jato operation, and this generates, in part of public opinion, the perception that the decision is a victory for the so-called “system” over the national effort to fight corruption”, he says.

At the end of 2021, the so-called “Partido da Lava Jato” began to take shape when Moro and Dallagnol announced their intentions to run for political office in the 2022 elections. Paraná, while Moro invested in a candidacy for the Presidency, initially by the same Pode de Dallagnol and, later, by União Brasil, which ended up not giving endorsement to his pretensions. Moro tried to run for the new party for the Senate in São Paulo, but was prevented by the Justice for not being able to prove electoral residence in the state. Finally, Moro was elected senator for Paraná, and Dallagnol got a seat in the Chamber of Deputies.