The approved this Wednesday (12), in a secret vote, the reappointment of the position of Attorney General of the Republic with the tightest score ever obtained by a nominee for the role since redemocratization. There were 45 votes in favor of him continuing in the position for another two years, 4 more than necessary, and 26 against.
The vote was seen by parliamentarians as a parameter to measure the possibility of approving the name of the Union’s attorney general, Jorge Messias, for a possible vacancy in the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
In 2023, Gonet obtained his first term as head of the PGR (Attorney General’s Office) with 65 votes in favor and 11 against. With a conservative profile on issues such as abortion and good movement in the political world, he obtained support at the time even among Bolsonarists.
The mood of the Bolsonarist wing towards the attorney general, however, changed, mainly due to his role in the coup plot, in which the former president was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison.
The head of the (Attorney General’s Office) was questioned earlier this Wednesday by the Senate’s CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission). The score in the collegiate had also been less relaxed than in 2023. That year, the commission gave 23 votes in favor of Gonet and 4 against. In this case, there were 17 in favor and 10 against.
Bolsonaro’s discontent was expressed by senators such as Jorge Seif (-SC), Esperidião Amin (PP-SC), (PL-EN) and (PL-RJ), son of Jair Bolsonaro.
“When you were led, I voted for you at the request of President Bolsonaro. President Bolsonaro could speak at the time, but now he cannot,” said Seif. He stated that the STF (Federal Supreme Court) installed “a tyranny of the toga” with Gonet’s connivance.
“You won’t have my vote this time, and I don’t even know what Bolsonaro’s opinion is on this because he was silenced under your management,” declared the senator. The former president of the Republic was and is in .
“Mr. Paulo Gonet, I want to regret your reappointment. You passively accepted the Federal being screwed over,” said Flávio Bolsonaro. “The members of the Federal Public Ministry must be ashamed of you today,” declared the senator.
Gonet defended his investigation into the coup plot process. He said that the PGR does not make hasty reports and that it does not propose interference with the rights of those being investigated without appropriate examination. He also said that the Public Ministry needs to act whenever there are signs of crime.
“In the same way, it is important to bear in mind that the Attorney General of the Republic does not judge anyone, he only takes the report of established facts to the Judiciary for evaluation,” he said.
Gonet also promised senators not to interfere with other Powers. According to him, .
“I reaffirm the Attorney General’s commitment to respect the powers of the Powers of the Republic, which translates into a position that is aloof from interference in the options of the Powers integrated by agents legitimized directly by the popular vote,” said the Attorney General.
“What is important to keep in mind is that there is no criminalization of politics in itself; above all, the ink that prints the pieces produced by the Attorney General’s Office does not have the colors of party flags”, he declared.
The head of the PGR responded to Flávio Bolsonaro’s statement that other members of the Public Ministry should be ashamed of the attorney general, saying that he is well-liked by the category. He mentioned a message of support he received from the president of ANPR (National Association of Public Prosecutors).
“It seems that there is no class shame in having the current attorney general at the head of the career,” said the head of the Public Ministry.
Government members defended the Attorney General of the Republic during the hearing.
“Dr. Gonet, I will vote for you, above all because of the historic role of your excellence, because, among other duties of your excellence, was to, with rectitude and, above all, with the discretion that only belongs to members of the Public Ministry, defend and punish those who attacked Brazilian democracy”, said the government leader in Congress, (PT-AP).
“The discretion, in these two years, of Dr. Paulo Gonet’s performance as head of the Attorney General’s Office recommends that all of us here analyze his name. Of course, there are people who disagree, but I believe that the vast majority will reappoint him and with the merits of his performance in these two years”, stated the leader of the PSD, Omar Aziz (AM), who was the rapporteur for Gonet’s nomination.
The attorney general did not campaign for its approval. The most common thing is that nominees for this type of position look for senators to ask for votes in the days before the decision.
Gonet’s alignment with the majority of the Supreme Court in the coup plot process was already expected both in the Judiciary and in politics. He was appointed by the president (PT) to the PGR in 2023 with .
The prosecutor was selected by Lula in 2023 from outside the triple list chosen by ANPR, as had happened with his predecessor, Augusto Aras, appointed on two occasions by Bolsonaro.
Gonet was deputy electoral attorney general during the Aras administration, but he is not seen as a name aligned with the former PGR within the Public Ministry and is more accepted internally than his predecessor.
The president of the Senate, (União-AP), had said on Tuesday (11), that the vote in the plenary would be on the same day as the hearing at the CCJ. At the time, he stated that there would be around 74 senators present, which would be an appropriate quorum for deliberation.
Throughout this Wednesday’s session, Alcolumbre asked senators several times to remain in the plenary and vote. The concern was with the possibility that one of the authorities would have their nomination blocked by the Senate due to lack of votes.
“Everyone has to stay. If anyone wants to travel, move it to tomorrow,” said Alcolumbre at a certain point in the session. He announced the vote on the nominee for the PGR after verifying that there were more than 70 senators present at the meeting.
In addition to Gonet, the following names for senior public positions were approved by the Senate plenary:
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Anísio David de Oliveira Jr. – member of the STM (Superior Military Court);
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Flávio Marcus Lancia Barbosa – member of the STM;
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Jaceguara Dantas da Silva – member of the CNJ (National Council of Justice);
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Daiane Nogueira Lira – member of the CNJ;
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Fabio Francisco Esteves – member of the CNJ;
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Gustavo Afonso Sabóia Vieira – member of the CNMP (National Council of the Public Ministry);
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Edvaldo Nilo de Almeida – member of the CNMP;
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Thiago Roberto Morais Dias – member of the CNMP;
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Severino Medeiros Ramos Neto – director of ANTT (National Land Transport Agency);
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Renata Lúcia Medeiros from Albuquerque Emerenciano – ombudsman for ANA (National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency).
