The minister of the (Supreme Federal Court) ordered this Monday (23) the suspension of the payment of R$ 4.2 billion in parliamentary amendments.
Dino also ordered the opening of an investigation to investigate the release of these values, “so that the facts can be adequately clarified”.
The decision is a new chapter in the dispute over these funds that led to a crisis between the STF and Congress in recent months.
Dino responded to a representation from PSOL that presented new facts regarding the payment of commission amendments — the target of criticism and previous decisions by the minister himself due to the lack of transparency.
The representation cites a letter sent to the federal government and signed by 17 party leaders. The document detailed the indication of 5,449 committee amendments.
This set of amendments totals R$4.2 billion and would take place, according to PSOL, “without prior approval and formal registration by the commissions, under the pretext of ‘ratifying’ the indications previously presented by the members of the commissions”.
In practice, as revealed by the magazine, the list of 17 party leaders in the Chamber changed the allocation of committee amendments, without approval from the committees. The letter with the new destination was sent to the government (PT) on the 12th, and the Civil House approved the maneuver.
Among the signatories of the list with more than 5 thousand nominations are the leader of the government in the Chamber, José Guimarães (-CE), that of the PT, Odair Cunha (MG), and that of the Republicans and candidate for president of the House, (PB) . The head of the Chamber, (PP-AL), would be the guarantor of the initiative.
The state most benefited from the allocation of R$4.2 billion would be Alagoas — land of Lira, with almost R$500 million.
The maneuver carried out in the Chamber failed to comply with STF determinations on parliamentary amendments. In August, the court’s plenary ruled that the funds could only be released if there was total transparency and traceability, which includes the identification of the congressmen who suggested the allocation of the money.
In his decision, Dino ordered the Chamber to publish on its website, within five working days, the minutes of the committee meetings in which the indications for these amendments were approved.
The STF minister stated that “it is not compatible with the constitutional order” which he described as a continuation of the cycle of complaints about poorly carried out works, misappropriation of funds, “suitcases of money being seized on planes, safes, cupboards or thrown out of windows “, in the face of police operations and the Public Ministry.
“Such institutional degradation constitutes an unacceptable series of unconstitutionalities, demanding the persevering action of the Federal Supreme Court”, he states.
Dino also says that there is contradiction between the efforts of the government and Congress to approve Minister Fernando Haddad’s (Finance) fiscal package and the insistence on the release of billions of reais without transparency.
“The recent ‘spending cuts’ deliberated by the Executive and Legislative Powers make it even more paradoxical that there is a persistent non-compliance with constitutional and legal duties — approved by the National Congress — regarding transparency, traceability and efficiency in the application of BILLIONS of reais”, said the minister in the decision.
Dino also determined that the Executive Branch will only be able to execute parliamentary amendments relating to the year 2025 with the completion of all corrective measures already ordered by the STF.
In this Monday’s decision, Dino cites excerpts from speeches by senator Cleitinho Azevedo (Republicanos-MG) and deputies Adriana Ventura (Novo-SP), José Rocha (União Brasil-BA) and Glauber Braga (PSOL-RJ).
The four parliamentarians reported in the gallery suspicions of diversion of resources from amendments and political agreements to allocate the funds in a manner contrary to what was established by the STF. The minister asked that congressmen be heard by the Federal Police in the investigation that will be opened.
“In the committees that I participate in, such as in health, there has never been any type of collegiate deliberation. (…) What I know, objectively, is that an office comes from above with several indications, and when I speak from above, I I say from the presidency of the House, together with the other leaders, the list arrives ready, the president of the commission signs it, and that’s not deliberate in the commission, that’s what I know, I’m going to talk about what I know, right?”, he said. Adriana Ventura, in an excerpt from a speech highlighted by Dino.
Minister Flávio Dino called for a hearing in February with representatives from the Chamber and the Federal Council to discuss the new crisis of parliamentary amendments. The meeting will now take place with the new Boards of Directors of both Houses.
“This schedule aims to meet the internal processes of the Legislative Branch, with its own calendar, so that institutional dialogue can occur in a productive manner, as has been sought by this STF.”
