Opposition rejects Dani Cunha’s PL that criminalizes criticism of politicians

Opposition parliamentarians criticized the project that criminalizes behavior considered discriminatory against “politically exposed persons”, that is, politicians and authorities. The proposal was approved in the Chamber of Deputies on the night of this Wednesday (14). There were 252 votes in favor of the measure and 163 against. The text goes to the Senate.

The project, authored by deputy Dani Cunha (União Brasil-RJ), was voted on in the plenary session after the approval of the urgency, which also occurred that night. According to the text, anyone who criticizes a person who is “politically exposed” or who has been denounced and even convicted in cases that have not yet become final could be punished with two to four years in prison and a fine.

“Politically exposed” persons are: representatives of the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary powers; presidents and officials of other countries; presidents of political parties; authorities of public or private international law entities, such as the UN, WHO, OAS and NGOs; between others. The relatives of these people would also be shielded by the new law.

The text also provides that the accused is prevented from opening or operating bank accounts, in addition to having denied any request to obtain credit from financial institutions. Under the proposal, any legitimate expression of opinion runs the risk of being criminalized. The set of penalties is greater than those provided for in the Penal Code for crimes against honor (slander, defamation and injury) and similar to measures adopted for those accused of corruption, drug trafficking and terrorism.

The author of the proposal is the daughter of former deputy Eduardo Cunha (MDB-RJ), who was sentenced to more than 55 years in prison in three corruption cases. On the 29th of May, in the wake of the understanding that dismissed Lula for alleged incompetence of the Justice of Paraná, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) decided to annul a decision that had condemned Eduardo Cunha for receiving bribes in the scope of Lava investigations. Jet.

Opposition classifies project as absurd and compares it to the Fakes News PL

The leader of the opposition, deputy Carlos Jordy (PL-RJ), classified the proposal as absurd and that it grants privilege to one class. “It’s an absurd. The person who felt injured can appeal in court, as already provided for by law. You don’t have to have new legislation to only punish politically exposed people,” he said.

For deputy Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO), the proposal is similar to the Fake News PL. “I think anyone and everyone has a full right to criticize me and say whatever they want about me. I took this job and I have to be ready for it. This project is a 2.0 version of the Fake News PL”.

In the same sense, deputy André Ferreira (PSC-PE) criticized the proposal, claiming that criticism is part of freedom of expression. “Every citizen has the right to express themselves. Of course, everything has a limit. The way of expressing oneself has the limits of the law, but we cannot prohibit people from giving their opinion regarding a parliamentary or legal authority”, pointed out the deputy.

In justifying the proposal, Dani Cunha argued that the project aims to curb a “distortion” of the “normative system”. “Our project aims to put an end to this misrepresentation in our regulatory system. It is not appropriate for people to be prevented from performing acts necessary for regular coexistence (and survival) within society just because they are politically exposed people (or with whom they relate), or simply because they appear as a defendant in the process judicial proceedings in progress or for having a conviction decision without final judgment handed down in their disfavor”.

The text also provides for more severe sanctions against people convicted of criticizing politicians. One of them is to oblige financial institutions to deny services and products. “It is urgent that financial institutions be compelled to justify the refusal to open or maintain an account, in view of the fact that it is often an irremediable need for citizens to obtain their livelihood, since it is a fundamental requirement so that he can carry out a regular job”.