The former minister’s defense of ()’s house arrest divided opinions in the country and motivated public criticism, praise in groups and veiled embarrassment among party members.
In an interview with BBC Brasil, Dirceu declared that the former president, sentenced to 27 years in prison in a closed regime for his role in the coup plot, “has no conditions to go to prison”. since August 4th.
“I’ve never had a relationship with Bolsonaro, but it seems to me that he is a psychosomatic person, who is accelerating, very unstable. He is not a person who has self-control,” he said. “I don’t wish harm on anyone, including him. Under these conditions, he survives because he will stay at home, with family, with medical treatment. Family is very important. But he can’t afford to go to prison.”
Dirceu has already been arrested five times: by , by and on three occasions by Lava Jato. He stated that a former president cannot be placed in the penitentiary system and that, even in the case of the president (PT), there was the possibility of serving his sentence in a closed regime in the prison in Curitiba, and not in a common prison.
“I think it is very unlikely that vulnerable prisoners can be placed in the penitentiary system that is controlled by organized crime. The conditions are terrible. And as his health condition [Bolsonaro] It’s getting worse, because it seems like this is real, I don’t see how he can enter the penitentiary system.”
PT members heard by Sheet They criticized, with reservation, Dirceu’s defense of house arrest in Bolsonaro’s case and said that it generated internal embarrassment, since the PT leader in the Chamber, the deputy (RJ), claimed the ex-president was a risk of escape before the trial of the (Supreme Federal Court).
A party leader classified Dirceu’s statement as a big mistake and said that part of the members did not want to make public criticisms because he was a respected member of the PT.
Federal deputy Rogerio Correia (PT-MG) used the social network X to criticize the speech. “If the [Carla] Zambelli can handle an overcrowded prison in Italy, why wouldn’t Bolsonaro, with his track record as an athlete and imbrochable, be able to handle a prison in Brazil, with so many human rights laws approved by leftists?”, he wrote on Wednesday (8).
When contacted by the reporter, Correia said that it is up to the authorities to define whether or not Bolsonaro will be able to serve his sentence in a closed regime.
“The one who has to evaluate this is the criminal system and the official medical service. The crime of trying to end the people’s right to vote and attacking political freedoms is very serious,” said the parliamentarian.
He added that he made a point of publishing the post on social media to show that it was Dirceu’s own opinion, and not an official position of the party.
“I’m a friend of José Dirceu and I give myself the right not to agree with everything he says,” he added.
In WhatsApp groups, on the other hand, some members praised the statement made by the former Minister of the Civil House during Lula’s first term.
In exchange of messages to which the Sheet had access, one of them said that Justice is not revenge, but humanity, and another PT member called Dirceu’s speech a manifestation of generosity.
Vice-president of the PT, the mayor of Maricá, Washington Quaquá, told the reporter that, although it is “important to pacify the country”, he believes that Bolsonaro should serve a closed prison sentence for at least a year. “Lula didn’t stay?” he asked.
“Bolsonaro has to stay in prison until the end of the elections. Because he is condemned for, among other things, attacking democracy,” he said in a message.
When asked if he disagreed with Dirceu’s speech, Quaquá denied it. “It’s not about disagreeing, I have a different opinion,” he said. “It’s a divergence of time [de pena]”, he added.
