The government (PT) has acted to please (União Brasil-AP) before appointing a new name to the (Supreme Federal Court) — which must contradict the preference of the president of the .
Lula’s allies say that the Union’s attorney general, , should be chosen for the vacancy. Alcolumbre, however, is the main articulator of the name of the senator (-MG) for the seat left by .
Alcolumbre has been honored by the PT government with measures such as the indication of and even the inclusion of a provision in the environmental licensing law that can accelerate projects considered strategic in the senator’s interest.
On October 15, pressured by Alcolumbre, to regulate the LAE (Special Environmental License) decision chamber. The idea is for the group to choose projects classified as strategic, which would go through a simpler authorization process, with a single stage of analysis by the licensing body, regardless of their potential for harm to the environment and the use of natural resources.
Furthermore, this Monday (20), the president of the Senate of Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) asked Petrobras to do so, 175 km off the coast of Amapá, the state that is Alcolumbre’s electoral base.
He thanked the Lula government and state political leaders for helping to make the project viable. “Ibama’s authorization reaffirms that it is possible to reconcile economic growth and environmental preservation, ensuring that the benefits of this activity reach local populations and strengthen national energy sovereignty,” he declared.
The president of the Senate has also been an important name for the Lula government, which today is trying to find a budgetary solution for 2026 in light of the decision by the Chamber of Deputies to withdraw the provisional measure to increase taxes.
Alcolumbre has and has already demonstrated a willingness to help the government to give impetus to future measures in the House.
The president of the Senate has also avoided the agenda of amnesty for the coup plotters of January 8, 2023, today a priority flag for Bolsonarists, whose appeal reverberates more in the Chamber.
According to the government leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), the federal government’s good relationship with Alcolumbre should not be affected in the event that President Lula opts for Messias to the STF, to the detriment of Pacheco.
The name chosen by the president for the STF will still depend on the votes of the senators to be confirmed, and it will be up to Alcolumbre to lead the pace of the process in the House.
“I don’t think he’ll hold [o trâmite do processo] or something like that”, says the PT senator, adding that everyone understands that the choice of STF ministers is an exclusive prerogative of the President of the Republic.
In the Senate, the candidate will undergo a hearing in the Constitution and Justice Committee and a vote in the plenary, where he must receive the support of the absolute majority of parliamentarians.
Lula and Alcolumbre met on Monday night to talk about the nomination to the STF. According to Wagner, Alcolumbre told Lula that he supports Pacheco’s name.
Wagner did not give details about what the president said to Alcolumbre, but told journalists that he believes Lula has a conviction formed by Messiah. “But I don’t want to get ahead of myself”, he pondered.
He also repeated what Lula has publicly stated about Pacheco, that the former president of the Senate would be the best name to run for Government of Minas Gerais in the 2026 elections.
On Tuesday afternoon, Alcolumbre talked about the meeting with Lula, but didn’t talk.
Lula’s possible announcement about the option for Messiah should be made in the . The president embarked this Tuesday morning (21) and is expected to return to Brazil next week.
There was an expectation that the decision would be made public this Tuesday morning, but Lula would have considered the convenience of making the announcement on the eve of the trip and leaving the repercussions of the matter in Brazil.
Furthermore, the president still intends to talk to some people, including Pacheco. According to allies, Lula would like to make this gesture of consideration to his ally.
