Secretary rises to succeed Dino, Lewandowski is raffled – 12/14/2023 – Power

The approval of Flávio Dino for the STF (Supreme Federal Court) by the Senate, on Wednesday (13), intensified the dispute over succession in the Ministry of Justice.

At the same time, the exclusion of the name of retired court minister Ricardo Lewandowski by the government leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), positioned the special secretary for legal affairs of the Presidency, Wellington César Lima e Silva, as one of the main favorites in the race.

Lewandowski was considered the strongest name to take over Justice. But even on Wednesday, Wagner, one of Lula’s closest allies, openly discussed the possibility of the retired minister being chosen to head the department.

The senator signaled that the president has not yet decided who he will choose, but said he knows who will not be minister: Lewandowski, the president of the PT, Gleisi Hoffmann, as well as himself.

“I can tell anyone I know that it won’t be [ministro]: neither Lewandowski, nor Jaques Wagner, nor Gleisi”, said the senator, hours after the Senate endorsed Dino’s choice for the STF.

The statement caused people close to the president to start betting on Wellington, who has the support of Wagner. According to them, Lula gave up on the original idea of ​​appointing a woman to the Ministry of Justice and has floated the possibility of opting for a homemade solution to replace Dino.

At the head of the secretariat for legal affairs in Planalto, Wellington works directly with Lula. According to allies, he gained the president’s trust throughout the first year of government.

In March 2016, amid the impeachment process of Dilma Rousseff (PT), Wellington took over the Ministry of Justice for a few days. But, as he was a member of the Public Ministry of Bahia when he was appointed, he had to resign after the STF declared it unconstitutional for a prosecutor to hold a position in the Executive without giving up his career.

He is currently free to take on the role, having retired from MP-BA.

Born in Salvador, Wellington enjoys the sympathy of the Bahian wing of the PT, which has Wagner as one of its main leaders — which has generated resistance among another wing of the president’s allies.

PT members have complained about the concentration of power in the hands of the group, also represented by Rui Costa in the Civil House and Jorge Messias in the AGU (Attorney General of the Union).

Furthermore, Lewandowski’s emissaries sent Lula the information that the retired STF minister would be open to hearing an invitation, despite the version that he would prefer to remain in the private sector.

According to allies, Lula never formalized an invitation to Lewandowski. People close to the retired minister say it would be difficult for him to refuse a request from the president.

The option for Lewandowski is defended by the wing of the government that wants a strong name in the ministry, considered extremely sensitive because, among other reasons, it has the Federal Police under its umbrella.

Another name considered for the post of Minister of Justice was Messias, but the head of the AGU told allies he did not want to participate in the dispute. In the words of a direct collaborator of the president, the scenario is confusing and tension increased after Wagner stated that Lewandowski is out of the running.

In private conversations, defenders of the name of Lewandowski and other candidates for the position even accused Wagner of having discarded the name of the STF minister with the intention of benefiting Wellington.

Wagner’s allies deny that he has nominated a name for Justice. They also remember that Wagner has already expressed sympathy for different names for positions, but never stopped supporting Lula’s chosen ones, even when his opinion was contradicted.

Another name that began to be cited by PT members as an option for Justice is that of Minister Camilo Santana (Education), former governor of Ceará — despite having experienced a security crisis when he headed the state.

The name of Gleisi, which was mentioned by Lula himself, and that of Simone Tebet (Planning) are also considered cards outside the deck.

Lawyer Marco Aurélio de Carvalho has the support of a wing of the PT to take over the ministry. The executive secretary of Justice, Ricardo Cappelli, has the support of the PSB, but in a scenario in which there would be a dismemberment of the department and the recreation of the Ministry of Public Security.

Wadih Damous (PT), former deputy and current national consumer secretary at the Ministry of Justice, is also defended by a party winger.

Lula’s allies in Planalto argue that he should decide on Dino’s replacement this year, but they believe that the president will use the time he has at his disposal to put the hammer down.

The president has been slow to make important definitions. Dino’s inauguration at the STF will take place in the second half of February, probably on the 22nd.

This Thursday (14), Dino was at the Supreme Court, where he met with the president of the court, Luís Roberto Barroso, and with ministers Alexandre de Moraes and Cristiano Zanin.

After the meeting, Dino stated that he intends to continue at the Ministry of Justice in the coming weeks, until Lula chooses a new minister for the department.