The president of the Legislative Assembly of Paraná (Alep), Alexandre Curi (PSD), will forward to the House Ethics Council on Monday, 24th, the five representations for breach of parliamentary decorum that he received against state deputy Renato Freitas (PT) – filmed exchanging kicks and punches with a man on the street last Wednesday, 19th. Freitas broke his nose in the exchange of attacks with valet Wesley de Souza Silva, in the central region of Curitiba.
“On Monday morning, all these representations will be forwarded to the Ethics Council. Like any episode that involves a breach of decorum, this presidency will act very rigorously, very quickly. And the Ethics Council, which now has clear rules and legal certainty, will analyze it”, said Curi this Friday, 21. According to him, the episode does not reflect the image of the Legislative Branch.
Freitas’ case will be analyzed based on the recently created Code of Ethics of the Legislative Assembly of Paraná – promulgated in September this year. Until then, the rules of decorum and ethical principles that deputies must follow were established by the House’s Internal Regulations, which underwent recent reform, but which have less specific wording on the topic.
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Typification of the deputy’s conduct
The Code of Ethics indicates, in article five, the acts considered incompatible with parliamentary decorum. Among them is the practice of “physical or actual offenses against any person, in the Legislative Assembly building and its extensions, or outside it, as long as they are exercising their mandate”.
In a press conference this Friday afternoon, Renato Freitas was asked about this classification of the episode. “I’m very calm, because you said it very well, in the exercise of my mandate. The interpretation that, while I’m sleeping, I’m carrying out my parliamentary activity is unacceptable”, said the deputy.
According to Freitas, who criticized the publication of only edited excerpts of the fight, at the time the confusion began he had just come out of his first child’s first ultrasound exam. At that moment, he said he was with the child’s mother. The pregnancy is nine weeks old, according to the deputy.
Can Renato Freitas be impeached?
According to the Code of Ethics, revocation is the most severe punishment provided. At the end of the investigation process carried out by the council, the deputy reported for breach of parliamentary decorum may be punished with a verbal warning; written warning; suspension of prerogatives; temporary suspension of mandate (from 30 to 120 days); or with the loss of mandate.
In cases involving breach of decorum, the code determines that the loss of mandate is decided by the Plenary of the Legislative Assembly, by an absolute majority of members. Alep has 54 deputies, only eight of which are opposition. On the Ethics Council, only Freitas is not from the government base. He will be replaced by an alternate member.
What happens if he is revoked?
If the deputy were punished with the loss of office for breach of parliamentary decorum, he would be ineligible for eight years after the decision, as provided for by the Clean Record Law. With this, the deputy would be out of contention in the 2026 elections.
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How the process works at the Ethics Council
On Monday, after receiving the representations against the deputy, the president of the Ethics Council, Delegate Jacovós (PL), will register and process the requests, in addition to calling a meeting to declare the ethical-disciplinary process initiated. The rapporteur will also be appointed at the meeting.
The process takes 60 days to complete, and can be extended for another 30 days, depending on the case. During this period, the deputy may present a defense. Witnesses will also be called and evidence may be produced. The Ethics Council’s work will be concluded with the final vote on the process by the collegiate body.
How was the confusion?
On the day of the fight, images that circulated on social media showed the deputy arguing with the man on a sidewalk on Rua Vicente Machado. Freitas is accompanied by another boy, who quickly gets involved in the fight.
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“Leave me, leave me”, says the deputy to the boy accompanying him. “So come on, handsome. Come on, handsome,” he says when addressing the man he was fighting with. Afterwards, Renato lands two kicks on the man and then gets punched in the face.
The man left the deputy bleeding. “Come on, ‘piazão’. Are you bleeding already? Are you bleeding already?”, he mocks. Freitas responds: “So it started. If I’m bleeding, it started”, says the deputy. Renato is also called “PSOL councilor” and asked by the man: “Aren’t you the famous one?”
In another video, the two appear exchanging aggression on a pedestrian crossing. The fight ends on the other side of the street, after the deputy gives the man a “rear naked choke” blow and they are separated by people passing by.
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This Friday, other videos also started to be shared. These are excerpts edited by the defense of the valet who was involved in the confusion with the deputy. The new images appear to be from a time before the first videos released.
These images show the deputy, who was accompanied, trying to cross the street. A car passes near them. According to the deputy, the vehicle tried to run him over. According to his version, the man in the car opened the window and called him “noia, rubbish and other fouler, more everyday, trivial swear words, unfortunately”. After that, the deputy and a friend go after the man.
Renato Freitas also claimed to have been a victim of racial insults. At the press conference, he also stated that he believes the episode was planned to harm him and that it may have political motivations.
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The valet’s defense, led by lawyer Jeffrey Chiquini, claims that the deputy was the first to attack him in the confusion. “He (Renato) said today that he didn’t touch Wesley, but we have an image from inside (the parking lot). Both (Renato and his friend) hit. Renato throws several punches and kicks. The narrative created by Renato Freitas doesn’t hold water. He is an aggressor, he is violent and he initiated the attacks”, says the lawyer.
