Novo could become the new Lava Jato Party, instead of Podemos

The recent entry of former deputy Deltan Dallagnol (PR) into the Novo party gave rise to the impression that the party could inherit the nickname “Lava Jato Party” from Podemos. The symbolic transfer is due to the migration of parliamentarians from Podemos to Novo, including Dallagnol and senator Eduardo Girão (CE), the removal from the scene of others who were unsuccessful in the elections and the pragmatic stance adopted by both parties. In parallel, the dismantling of the largest anti-corruption operation in the country progressed, both by the Judiciary and the Legislature.

Deltan Dallagnol, former prosecutor and leader of the Operation Lava Jato task force, announced his affiliation with Novo with the initial intention of contributing to the party’s growth in the 2024 and 2026 elections. He stated in a radio interview Young pan that “the battle in 2026 starts next year”. After the departure of Podemos, on September 30, the former deputy characterized the new association as “a group of idealists and patriots who fight with courage against corruption and abuses of the Federal Supreme Court (STF)”, among other fronts. Convicted by the Electoral Court, Dallagnol is currently ineligible until at least 2029.

The president of Novo, Eduardo Ribeiro, does not evoke the title of “Lava Jato Party” for the party, but recognizes this association as natural, due to the programmatic stance of defending public resources and relentlessly combating corruption. “This commitment has existed since the Novo was created, in 2011, by a group outraged by the old policy. In this sense, we consider Dallagnol’s arrival not as membership, but his return home”, commented the leader to People’s Gazette. He admitted to having invited other “lavajatista” parliamentarians to also join.

At the end of 2021, Podemos confirmed its reputation as the “Lava Jato Party” when former Lava Jato judge Sergio Moro and Dallagnol announced that they would run for political positions in the 2022 election. Chamber for Paraná, while Moro launched the presidential candidacy for Podemos de Dallagnol and, later, for União Brasil, which did not support the claim. Moro was then elected senator by that party for Paraná. Dallagnol managed to secure a seat in the Chamber with a record vote – almost 345 thousand votes -, but on May 16, 2023, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) decided to revoke his mandate.

Until 2022, Podemos had as its central figure the former senator from Paraná Álvaro Dias, a long-time ally of Moro and Dallagnol. Dias was defeated in his re-election attempt, interestingly by Moro, of whom he was his biggest supporter. Podemos had one of the largest benches in the Senate, which suffered a significant decline at the beginning of the current legislature, recovering in recent months to now reach seven senators. Ending 2021 with eight senators, the party did not elect new ones and still lost two, Álvaro Dias (PR) and Lasier Martins (RS), who were not re-elected.

Podemos has been controlled since its foundation, in 1995, by the Abreu family: Dorival de Abreu, José Masci de Abreu and deputy Renata Abreu (SP), national president of the party. In 2018, the then National Labor Party (PTN) adopted the name Podemos, inspired by the left-wing party in Spain. In the same year, he incorporated the Humanist Solidarity Party (PHS) and launched Álvaro Dias as President of the Republic, with an approach associated with Lava Jato, but he obtained only 1% of the expected votes.

Afraid of the advance in voting intention polls for the 2026 presidential election of governor Romeu Zema (MG), Novo’s most prominent politician, sectors of the right allied themselves with the left in order to disqualify him and associate him with former candidates for the Presidency of the PSDB, especially former governor João Doria. These groups also make a negative connection between Novo and the Movimento Brasil Livre (MBL), one of those that stood out in the fight for the impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff (PT), in 2016, and that showed sympathy for Moro’s presidential candidacy. Eduardo Ribeiro discards any institutional link between the MBL and the party, which has even been the target of harsh criticism from the group at different times.

Dismantling Lava Jato removed party greed for its brand

Parliamentary advisors consulted by the People’s Gazette report that, in practice, there is no longer any dispute between parties over the Lava Jatista label. The reason for this lies in the series of losses suffered by Lava Jato in recent years, imposed by the judicial and political systems, including annulment of convictions of confessed defendants who returned hundreds of millions of reais to public coffers and threats to the main names in the operation. At its peak, Lava Jato enjoyed enormous popular support and still has a strong political appeal today.

Proof of this would be the fact that former judge Sergio Moro himself did not consider migrating to Novo after being elected senator, remaining affiliated with a Centrão party, which is located within the federal government’s support base. Moro opted for pragmatism, but without losing his speech and actions aligned with the opposition.

In the case of Dallagnol, the civil servants assess that the decision to migrate parties would be related to the need to find party space after his withdrawal from Parliament, in order to remain sheltered and engaged while the uncertainties surrounding his own political perspectives and electoral elections, limited by the long penalty of ineligibility.