Opposition and government produce rival reports at CPMI on January 8

The January 8 Joint Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPMI) is reaching the halfway point of its six-month term marked by polarization between government and opposition objectives. Each side traces its own chronology around vandalism in Praça dos Três Poderes, with specific targets to support the respective lines of investigation.

The government bench maintains that there was an alleged attempt at a coup d’état led by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), in a narrative that spans several months and chapters of conspiracy. Oppositionists, in turn, want to deepen evidence of omissions by federal authorities, without which the episodes of that fateful Sunday would not have occurred.

The collegiate’s final report, being prepared by Senator Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA), will bring a long and diffuse timeline, from the 2022 electoral campaign, through the frustrated invasion of the Federal Police headquarters on December 12 and the foiled attack near Brasília Airport on Christmas Eve, to the present day, with accusations of the embezzlement and sale of Presidency jewels by Bolsonaro and of actions against electronic ballot boxes. The rapporteur says that the CPMI already has enough elements to indict Jair Bolsonaro for a series of crimes that would be combined with the intention of carrying out a “coup d’état”.

With another approach, complementary to the Justice investigations, the opposition, under the coordination of Deputy Delegate Ramagem (PL-RJ), is preparing its parallel report to link events strictly related to January 8, with special attention to the Lula government’s inaction in the face of the alerts issued by intelligence services and other sources since January 6.

The first missing person identified, even by Planalto allies, is General Marco Gonçalves Dias, former head of security for the President of the Republic, as minister of Lula’s Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI). Minister Alexandre Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) welcomed the manifestation of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) on Wednesday (16) that Gonçalves Dias “has omitted from his duty to adopt the necessary measures for the safeguard and protection of the Planalto Palace”.

Government supporters invade the collegiate agenda with strange themes

With the approach of the final three months of the CPMI, members even speculated about an eventual extension, which would need the support of a third of the Chamber and a third of the Senate. The president of the collegiate, deputy Arthur Maia (União Brasil-BA), considered the possibility unlikely, reiterating the need to keep the focus on the object of the investigation and avoid strange topics, such as Bolsonaro’s jewelry.

In recent weeks, the opposition managed to advance in the investigation into the government’s omissions, after the testimony of the former director general of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), Saulo Moura da Cunha, who attested to the negligent stance of his then superior Gonçalves Dias in the January 8, in addition to his intention to hide records of notices and images that were later leaked. Last Tuesday (15), the general was finally included in the investigation of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) that investigates acts of vandalism.

The main focus of opposition parliamentarians now is on the evidence of omission by Minister Flávio Dino (Justice), who repeatedly refused to meet the requests of parliamentarians to provide the images from the cameras at the headquarters of his portfolio on January 8th. After requests, protests and new deadlines, Dino only forwarded videos from two cameras, reinforcing suspicions of omission, in addition to the practice of prevarication according to the complaint submitted by the opposition to the PGR.

Denied images would prove the dismissal of the National Force

To amplify the interest in this denied material, photographer Adriano Machado, from the Reuters news agency, informed the CPMI that he had seen and photographed a contingent of men from the National Force posted near the parking lot of the Palace of Justice when the headquarters of the Three Powers had already been invaded and vandalized. An estimated 200 to 250 soldiers on standby and not employed. For the opposition, signs of leniency may reach Lula, if you consider his telephone conversations with Dino at the time of the acts and his decision on the eve of traveling to Araraquara (SP).

Finally, the parallel report should address injustices and abuses found against the approximately 2,000 prisoners on the 8th of January, in addition to pointing out the federal government’s intention to attribute all the blame for the failures in containing the events to the security of the Federal District. District secretary Anderson Torres and the general commander of the PMDF were removed and arrested, as well as Colonel Jorge Naime, who restrained demonstrators.

Senator Esperidião Amin (PP-SC) considers the immediate participation of General Gonçalves Dias in the CPMI as essential for the satisfactory evolution of the work of the collegiate, especially after Minister Alexandre Moraes added the name of the former GSI minister to the list of investigated for crimes of omission. “We have already approved requests for invitation and summons of this formal investigator and we still have the details of the dialogue he had with the former general director of Abin”, he argued.

Senator Izalci Lucas (PSDB-DF) shares the same opinion, who considers the testimony of General Gonçalves Dias to be essential for the search for the truth. For the congressman, the 8th of January would not have happened if it weren’t for the omission of the federal authorities. “These are people who received alerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday that there would be invasion of buildings and that there would be destruction of property. Nobody did anything. That’s why we need to know who received the messages and to whom they forwarded them and, finally, what actions were taken or not taken in this regard, ”he said.

The senator also complained about the Ministry of Justice’s refusal to send images, the wait for documents promised by the STF and the postponement of important hearings. “The impression I have from the first moment of the CPMI is that the report is already ready, all that remains is to build a narrative capable of giving it solidity. In the meantime, we should listen to people who can clarify facts and not ignore them. Soon the deadline is over and fundamental data will be out,” he lamented.

Minister of Defense admits that vandalism could be avoided

Still on the subject of omissions, the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro, said on Wednesday (16th), in an interview with the UOL portal, that the Armed Forces could have avoided January 8th. “There was really no repression that day. If there were anyone to prevent that, Army, Navy, Air Force or Federal District Police, there wouldn’t be, ”he said.

He also exempted the Armed Forces from the intention of carrying out a coup on January 8 and also avoided calling the invaders “coup plotters”, the way in which they are treated by government allies. “There was no leadership, each one chose where to go. One group was going to Congress, another to the Supreme Court, another to the Planalto Palace, no commander came. A bunch of ladies, children, elderly people came,” he added.

The arrest this Friday morning (18) of Colonel Klepter Rosa Gonçalves, general commander of the Military Police of the Federal District (PMDF), in a Federal Police (PF) operation, also reinforced the suspicions of oppositionists of omissions by federal authorities. . The officer assumed command of the PMDF on an interim basis shortly after the acts of vandalism, replacing Colonel Fábio Augusto Vieira, removed and detained by order of the federal security intervenor, Ricardo Cappelli, executive secretary of Minister Flávio Dino (Justice). On February 15, the then interventor formalized the promotion of Colonel Klepter as Commander General.