She saved the mandate of Bolsonarista (-SP), this Wednesday (10), by 227 to 170 — a majority of 257 votes was needed to impeach her. The deputy is imprisoned in Italy, where she fled after being convicted by the (Supreme Federal Court).
The plenary decision contradicted the earlier vote in the CCJ (Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Commission), with the help of deputies from the center.
In 2022, Zambelli was the most voted female deputy and third in the general ranking, with more than 946 thousand voters.
On Tuesday (9), the president of the Chamber, (-PB), announced, to the surprise of party leaders, that . He also decided that, until recess next week, the House will decide on the impeachments of (PL-SP) and Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ), in addition to this Wednesday.
Zambellie to ten years in prison for breaking into the CNJ (National Council of Justice) system with the help of hacker Walter Delgatti Neto, also convicted.
The Chamber plenary deliberated on the loss of mandate, following Motta’s understanding that, according to the Constitution, Congress has the final say in the case of a parliamentarian convicted of a crime.
Motta had initially said that the Chamber’s Board would ratify the STF’s order immediately, but sent the case to the CCJ in June.
The corporatism of the deputies and the assessment that impeachment is a drastic measure weighed in favor of Zambelli. Furthermore, the vote adds to messages of dissatisfaction from parliamentarians in relation to the STF.
Zambelli’s opponents, on the other hand, recalled, during the vote, the episode in which she on the eve of the second round of the 2022 elections, which also.
With the deputy absent from the plenary, her defense was made by lawyer Fabio Pagnozzi, who said that the deputy, even if acquitted of losing her mandate, would resign.
“Zambelli was very clear: when she won here in the plenary, she would ask for her resignation, because she doesn’t want to upset her colleagues, she just wants dignity,” he stated.
“She did not commit or order an invasion of the CNJ. […] The only evidence they consider to be proof is the testimony of a hacker,” he said.
According to Pagnozzi, a decision to impeach would set a dangerous precedent for deputies who, according to him, are the targets of more than a hundred actions in the STF.
During the afternoon, the deputy participated remotely in the CCJ, and her son was present at the commission. “The justice I ask for today is justice so that Parliament continues to be honored. […] I was the first person who raised my voice against the dictatorship of the Federal Supreme Court”, he said.
Representative Diego Garcia (Republicanos-PR) argued that the case against Zambelli did not guarantee ample defense, has signs of political persecution and is kept confidential. “This House cannot be the rubber stamp of STF decisions, this House needs to take care of its prerogatives”, he added.
Bolsonaro deputies argued that Zambelli’s conviction is not fair. “There was no evidence for the conviction,” said Carlos Jordy (PL-RJ).
On the other side, government deputies stated that the deputy, even if she maintains her mandate, is unable to exercise it while imprisoned abroad and will end up being impeached due to misconduct. “In practice, she is already revoked,” said Lídice da Mata (PSB-BA). Others pointed out that the revocation is not a happy thing, but there would be no other way out.
This was also the thesis of the report by deputy Cláudio Cajado (PP-BA), approved by the CCJ. “The Chamber of Deputies finds itself facing an insurmountable situation. The criminal conviction of deputy Carla Zambelli is final. The sentence is a closed regime. The parliamentarian is already detained by the Italian authorities, as determined by the STF, which absolutely prevents her from exercising her mandate.”
Zambelli fled the country, passing through Argentina and the United States before landing in Italy. After about two months on the run,.
According to the indictment, Delgatti issued a false arrest warrant against him and said he had done so at the deputy’s request. Zambelli says that he did not help draft the false document and that he only learned about the hacker’s invasion of the CNJ after the fact, when he received the fraudulent files from him.
