Motta says that the role of the PF is ‘non-negotiable’ and that the anti-faction PL must be voted on in the 4th

The president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), stated this Tuesday that he seeks “convergence” between the government and opposition on the Anti-Faction project sent by the Executive to Congress. Then, the text’s rapporteur, Guilherme Derrite (PP-SP), stated that he will present a new version of the report in which changes will no longer be made to the Anti-Terrorism Law. The amendment seeks to reduce resistance among government supporters and facilitate approval in plenary.

The equalization of penalties between conduct carried out by criminal factions and terrorist acts had initially been included in the Anti-Terrorism Law, which provoked criticism from government officials and public security experts about the possibility of opening loopholes for the application of sanctions to Brazil. Another point that had been raised was a possible conflict of competence between the Federal Police and state authorities, which could undermine the role of the PF and generate reactions.

With this new version, Derrite states that it will be clear that investigations into terrorism will continue to be carried out by the Federal Police.

Motta said that the expectation is that the text will be voted on on Wednesday in plenary.

— We have to have the ability to build search and convergence, especially for major themes. Public safety has never been such an urgent topic. We have been talking about the proposal being in line with the country’s sentiments — said Motta. — No discussion in the House will allow an attack on the country’s sovereignty, and the role of the Federal Police is non-negotiable. Our expectation is to build dialogue with the leaders of the House until tomorrow and perhaps vote tomorrow. We are now creating a new law, the legal framework for combating organized crime.

Derrite denied that the role of the Federal Police is reduced in the opinion he presented, but admitted that he will make changes to facilitate approval in plenary.

— It opened the door for the creation of this mistaken narrative that I was weakening the work of the PF, it’s not true. If the problem lies in the conflict between the PF’s competence and national sovereignty, we are discussing it. Let’s maintain a tough text, I won’t give up on that — said Derrite. — We will deliver a legal framework for combating organized crime in Brazil.

Derrite has also intensified coordination with the Senate to prepare the ground for processing the proposal after the vote in the Chamber. The president of the House, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), informally designated senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE) as one of the main channels of dialogue on the text. Vieira, who is also the CPI’s rapporteur on Organized Crime, has been talking about the topic with Derrite to discuss specific adjustments and try to smooth out rough edges that could hinder the proposal’s advancement among senators.

Over the weekend, Alcolumbre sought out Vieira to hear his assessment of the project and also spoke with Senator Fabiano Contarato (PT-ES), president of the CPI on Organized Crime, about the impact of the Chamber’s report. Even during his participation in the Climate Conference (COP), Alcolumbre received several calls from politicians and public security authorities interested in discussing the direction of the proposal.

In addition to Vieira, the deputy has also held conversations with senator Sergio Moro (União-PR). The objective is to build a minimum convergence between different wings of the House and prevent the project from being dehydrated in the senators’ analysis.

Negotiation in progress

Earlier, Motta and House party leaders decided not to include the project in this Tuesday’s voting forecast. The decision was taken after a meeting between Motta and leaders because there is still no consensus on the content of the report. Different sectors of the House, even the government, which is against the current version of the report, say they are working to reach an understanding and vote on the project tomorrow or Thursday.

Motta met this Tuesday with Minister Ricardo Lewandowski (Justice), to hear suggestions for changes to the project report. Lewandowski, according to interlocutors, told Motta that the text contains unconstitutional sections. The government also appointed ministers Fernando Haddad (Finance), Gleisi Hoffmann (Institutional Relations) and the general director of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, to act against the project. A social media campaign also began running.

The text was articulated by the minister himself, but is reported by Derrite (PP-SP), Secretary of Security under the Tarcísio de Freitas (Republican) administration, who made several changes. The president of the House indicated that a new report from Derrite should be presented by the end of the day. It will be the third version of the text.

— The stitching of the text has to be very well done, the rapporteur is talking, we will be able to have a more refined proposal to present to society by the end of the day. There is total willingness on the part of the Chamber, of the rapporteur, to construct the best possible proposal so that it can progress not only well in the Chamber, but also well in the Senate and provide the conditions for the Executive Branch to analyze the possible sanction — said the president of the Chamber.

The version presented was heavily criticized by government supporters, who argued not to vote on any text before reaching consensus:

– Let’s take the text presented, the second version, and build this understanding until tonight. President Hugo Motta responded to our request, the leaders here too, not to vote on the matter today. I am optimistic, my role as government leader is to seek understanding in these times of tension. We have the report, we have the rapporteur defined and we will negotiate with him until tomorrow, and if necessary all night, to vote on this matter – said the government leader in the Chamber, José Guimarães (PT-CE).

Derrite’s choice to be the rapporteur was criticized by members of the government, such as the Minister of Institutional Relations, Gleisi Hoffmann. Today, the leader of the PP in the House, Doctor Luizinho (RJ), complained about the criticism:

– The nomination of deputy Derrite was our request from Progressistas. We would expect in a polarized House like this that President Hugo Motta would nominate a centrist deputy, who would neither be from the PL nor from the PT.

Excerpts criticized

Palácio do Planalto criticizes several points in the report. Among the sections that cause concern are the changes in the Anti-Terrorism Law, in opening up space for the Federal Police to lose influence in the fight against factions, in a section that could pave the way for criminalizing social movements and another that limits asset confiscation measures.

From these excerpts, Derrite made adjustments regarding the confiscation of assets and the PF. Still, the changes made in relation to PF did not please the corporation to the point that an agreement was reached.

Guimarães minimized the disagreements and said that it was possible to reach an understanding.

– Just as we voted IR unanimously, we want to move forward to build a high degree of unanimity to vote on this matter that interests the entire House, the government and Brazilian society. The two issues being discussed are the redefinition of the Federal Police’s duties and the issue of the Anti-Terrorism Law.