With the official notification on Friday (12), the president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), now has a deadline to decide on the future of the deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP). Minister’s decision Alexandre de Moraesfrom the STF (Supreme Federal Court), determined the parliamentarian’s loss of mandate and set a deadline of 48 hours for the diploma of her alternate.
The target of criticism from the opposition, Moraes’ determination was confirmed unanimously in the virtual plenary of the First Panel of the Court on Friday. The case puts Hugo Motta under pressure and anticipates a possible decision by the President of the Chamber on the possible loss of Zambelli’s mandate due to absences.
On the one hand, government supporters celebrated Moraes’ determination, while members of the opposition believe that there is an invasion of the Legislative’s powers and await Hugo’s reaction.
In the early hours of Thursday (11), Zambelli’s mandate was preserved by the House plenary, which did not receive enough votes for impeachment. Less than a day later, Moraes reacted and assessed that the Chamber’s act was null and void.
Zambelli’s loss of mandate had been decided by the First Panel of the STF and communicated to the Chamber in June. The deputy was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her involvement in the invasion of CNJ (National Council of Justice) systems. Pressured by the opposition, Hugo Motta decided to send the case to the CCJ (Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Commission).
The collegiate approved the loss of mandate, after months of analyzing the case. In the plenary, the situation was reversed by a score of 227 votes in favor of the impeachment and 170 against, failing to reach an absolute majority of parliamentarians for the impeachment.
The deputy has been imprisoned since July in Italy, where she fled after her conviction, and is at risk of being extradited to Brazil. The parliamentarian took leave from her position between May and October, but since then she has been accumulating absences.
Absences, according to the Constitution, are punishable by loss of office. This would be the path that Hugo Motta could follow in relation to the deputy’s political future, after the plenary maintains her mandate. The counting of absences, however, would only be finalized next year.
With the STF’s determination, Hugo is forced to decide on the deputy’s case in the coming days. The substitute for the vacancy is Adilson Barroso (PL-SP). He is the state’s first substitute for the PL (Liberal Party) for having obtained more than 62 thousand votes in the 2022 election.
Since the elections, he has held the position of deputy three times. He filled the seat of Guilherme Derrite, elected by PL in 2022, while the deputy served as head of the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat.
According to the rules of the House, as he had already assumed the position before, Adilson Barroso would not need to make the commitment to take office in plenary, and it would only be necessary for his return to exercise his mandate to be communicated to the House by Hugo Motta.
