Pivot of crisis between crisis between the government and (), the Union’s attorney general, 45, has already said he is against expanding legal abortion, defended the regulation of big techs and, in his doctorate, cited it to defend the State’s intervention in .
Lula’s nominee to the (Federal Supreme Court) has also spoken out on topics such as parliamentary amendments and public security, whether in his role as head of the AGU (Advocacy General of the Union), or on social media.
The choice of Messias for the vacancy of the minister, who retired two months ago, displeased the president of the Senate, (-AP), who wanted senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) in the post.
In a scenario of uncertainty, Messiah’s hearing was postponed. Considering it did not have the number of votes necessary for approval, the government delayed sending its name to the Senate, forcing the cancellation of the parliamentary session.
Born in Recife (PE), the Union’s attorney general graduated in law from UFPE (Federal University of Pernambuco) and obtained his master’s and doctor’s degrees from the Development, Society and International Cooperation program at Unb (University of Brasília).
In recent times, he orbited power in the PT administrations. He held various positions in ministries and served as attorney for the Central Bank and the . He was also a parliamentary advisor to Senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA).
He became better known in 2016, when he was mentioned by then president Dilma Rousseff in a phone call to Lula, who was being investigated by Lava Jato at the time. The transcript identified him as “Bessias”.
ABORTION
Evangelical, from the Baptist Church, Messiah, in a nod to the most conservative. However, he also endorsed the current legislation: the procedure is permitted in specific cases, such as pregnancy resulting from rape, anencephalic fetus and danger to the mother’s life. Last year, it prohibited fetal asystole – a medical procedure for carrying out an abortion – in cases of pregnancy over 22 weeks.
The opinion maintained that the council had committed abuse of power by restricting the procedure, trying to change what is provided for in the Penal Code. According to the AGU, the change in the law would be the responsibility of Congress. One month before the body’s demonstration, also preventing the punishment of medical professionals in these cases.
Parliamentarians linked to former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) rescued the AGU demonstration. Federal deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante (PL) said that Messias posed as a Christian and supported the cruelest abortion.
SOCIAL MEDIA
On several occasions, Messias defended the regulation of the social media business model. According to him, this is a priority to be analyzed by the Supreme Court. In June, he classified content published by third parties as historic. In the middle of the year, he stated, at an event, that big techs should make the algorithmic construction process available for public scrutiny.
PUBLIC SAFETY
During a seminar on the topic held in May, Messias defended the Public Security PEC and said it was necessary to invest more in intelligence, because the formula had already been exhausted. For the Union’s attorney general, the topic of public security must be discussed from a social, democratic and humanist perspective.
In March 2024, he opposed the initiatives of a group of right-wing governors from the South and Southeast. These governors prepared two documents, defending a review of the criteria for provisional freedom and a change in the granting of the so-called leave. With the proposals, these governors aimed to toughen up the fight against organized crime spread across the country.
On social media, Messias cited the Bible (“Thou shalt not kill”) to criticize the governors’ “penal populism.” “Violence must be combatted by an efficient security policy, equipped, organized and valued”, he wrote in his account on X.
AMENDMENTS
Last year, the AGU at least had Dino to facilitate the release of more than R$13 billion in amendments. The body also published an opinion with guidance for ministries to maintain the blocking of R$4.2 billion in commission amendments.
With Messias already listed for the court, in October this year, the AGU said in a statement to the STF that the agreement between the three Powers signed in 2024 was satisfactory and defended that the Supreme Court declare the constitutionality of the new payment flow.
Already nominated by Lula for the court, Messias tries to dispel the risk raised by senators that he will be .
ECONOMY
Defended in 2024, Messias’ doctoral thesis, entitled “The Government Center and the AGU: Brazilian Development Strategies in the Global Risk Society”, offers some information about its author’s socioeconomic thinking.
Quoting Marx and Engels (“Everything solid melts into air”), Messias shows, in his work, that the contemporary world is defined by a scenario of risks of different natures —economic, political, ecological and health. Such a scenario would require consistent public policies and new regulatory measures from the State. Messias cited the Covid-19 pandemic to show the need for state action to mitigate risks.
