Project punishes discrimination against politicians; understand in 4 points – 06/15/2023 – Power

The Chamber of Deputies approved this Wednesday night (14) a bill that criminalizes “discrimination” committed “because of being a politically exposed person”.

The proposal, which targets financial institutions, was approved by 252 to 163 votes and will now go to the Senate. It was voted on after protests by parliamentarians from the allied base of the Lula government (PT) and the opposition to the PT.

1) Whose is it the project? Authored by deputy Dani Cunha (União Brasil-RJ), daughter of the impeached federal deputy and former mayor Eduardo Cunha.

2) what foresee the project? Among other points:

• Provides for a prison sentence of two to four years, in addition to a fine, in case of refusal to grant credit or to open a current account to any individual “because of the condition of politically exposed person”;

• It considers politically exposed persons to be the highest positions in the Republic, including president, federal deputies and senators;

• The proposal also provides for punishment for crimes resulting from discrimination against a person who is responding to a preliminary investigation or who is a defendant in an ongoing judicial process;

• There are also a series of rules that financial institutions need to comply with in case of denials to these groups. Provides for an infraction, for example, denying the granting of credit without presenting a document with the technical motivation for the decision, based only on the condition of a politically exposed person;

• If this documentation is not delivered within five days of the request, the institution is subject to a daily fine of BRL 10,000;

3) Who else is benefited by the project? The list includes, among others, ministers of state, members of superior courts, presidents and treasurers of political parties, in addition to governors, mayors, state deputies and councilors.

Under the proposal, the status of politically exposed person remains valid for up to five years after the person leaves their public function. The benefits provided for in the text extend to family members, “close collaborators” and companies of people in these conditions.

4) How did the deputies vote? The Novo parties and the PSOL-Rede federation – the PT, PC do B and PV federation released their bench against the text. The opposition also advised against it, while the government did not.

The project was reported by Deputy Claudio Cajado (PP-BA). The text was not on the agenda of the session, which generated criticism from parliamentarians. According to the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), the assessment of the project had already been discussed at a meeting of the college of leaders this week.

Leader of União Brasil in the Chamber, deputy Elmar Nascimento (BA) made an emphatic defense for the approval of the text.

“I don’t know any parliamentarian in this House with the moral authority to extend and point the finger at anyone and say that something is being done to benefit politicians, because it is exactly the opposite”, he said.