President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) demanded this Tuesday, 9th, from deputies and senators the approval of the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) of Public Security sent by the government to Congress. The report of the rapporteur, deputy Mendonça Filho (União-PE), is expected to be read this Wednesday, 10th, in the special committee.
According to Lula, it is necessary to define precisely where the Union should act in combating organized crime. “We need to define where we enter and how we enter without harming the autonomy of the governors, what we cannot do is not have a relevant role for the federal government in the issue of public security, and that is why I wanted to ask the senators and deputies to approve the so-called Security PEC”, said Lula, at the launch of Brazil’s CNH, at the Palácio do Planalto.
The government’s proposal envisages giving constitutional status to the Unified Public Security System (Susp), created by law in 2018, in addition to standardizing protocols, data and information flows between federative entities. According to Planalto, the proposal will strengthen the State’s capacity to confront increasingly structured criminal organizations.
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Lula stated that violence is “the most serious problem in the country” and defended investment in intelligence, rejecting speeches of pure and simple toughness. “There are people who think that everything can be solved by killing. I don’t think so. Investing in the right people, in the right place. We don’t need genocide to combat banditry”, he stated.
This Tuesday, the rapporteur presented the “principles” of his opinion to party leaders: criminal policy; police system; prison system and security policy.
The deputy informed that he intends to expand the sources of financing for public security and maintain the constitutionalization of the National Public Security Fund (FNSP) and the National Penitentiary Fund (Funpen), as proposed by the Executive. Mendonça also wants to establish that members of factions, militias or perpetrators of violent crimes serve 100% of their sentence in a closed regime, without progression.
Another change foreseen by the rapporteur is to allow States and the Federal District to legislate on security issues, in addition to rejecting the model of integration of forces proposed by the government, which he classified as “centralizing”.
Mendonça also stated that he intends to include in the PEC a provision that calls for a national referendum, in 2028, on reducing the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16 years old in cases of violent, heinous crimes or those committed by members of factions.
