The First Panel of the (Federal Supreme Court) unanimously upheld this Friday (12), the decision of the minister in the case of the federal deputy (-SP).
The collegiate’s support for Moraes and the launch of a Federal Police operation also this Friday on suspected irregularities in the execution of parliamentary amendments inflamed the atmosphere behind the scenes of the National Congress and with the STF.
In the case of the police action, the target was Mariângela Fialek, known as Tuca, an advisor linked to the former president of the Chamber (PP-AL) and who continues to manage the distribution of parliamentary amendments under the current president of the House, (-PB).
Tuca is the employee responsible for organizing the distribution lists of parliamentary amendments to the Budget since the Lira administration. At the time, the rapporteur’s amendments were without transparency, which was overturned by the STF in 2022. Currently, the , which began to inform the name of the parliamentarian or the leader of the party responsible for the funds.
An ally of Lira claims that the civil servant knows and has written down all political agreements in her office and cell phone, with spreadsheets that inform who received and directed resources to each place. The operation would follow the scrutiny carried out by the minister on parliamentary amendments, which became a source of conflict throughout 2024.
The notes would include not only federal deputies, but also governors, mayors and party presidents, who benefited from the scheme that kept the author of the nominations secret.
The number of politicians involved and the volume of money invested caused a wave of concern to wash over congressmen. A deputy says that the Chamber woke up on fire with the operation, and with constant exchanges of messages between parliamentarians, full of criticism of the STF and demands for a harsher reaction against the ministers.
Motta spent the day on phone calls with deputies, to get their opinion on what to do, and called some leaders for a meeting on Friday night. He also called ministers Alexandre de Moraes and Gilmar Mendes, according to interlocutors, to try to calm things down.
The PF’s attack on the amendments further increased parliamentarians’ dissatisfaction with the STF. The day before, Moraes declared unconstitutional the Chamber session that maintained the mandate of deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP) and ordered that she be revoked, with the substitute taking office within 48 hours. Motta has not yet said whether he will comply with the decision.
This Friday, the case was judged in the virtual plenary (platform on which ministers cast their votes, without debates) of the First Panel of the STF — in addition to Moraes, the other members of the collegiate voted, the ministers , and .
“The best solution for cases such as the one now being analyzed is to understand that the loss of mandate constitutes an automatic result of the conviction, so that the decision of the Chamber of Deputies must only be declaratory in nature”, said Zanin in his vote.
The parliamentarian is imprisoned in Italy, where she fled after being convicted by the STF on charges of ordering the invasion of (National Council of Justice) systems.
“This is a null act, due to evident unconstitutionality, showing both disrespect for the principles of legality, morality and impersonality, as well as a flagrant deviation of purpose”, said Moraes about the vote that preserved Zambelli’s mandate.
According to the rapporteur, the procedure adopted by Motta of submitting the representation of the PL deputy’s case to the House plenary for deliberation and voting is invalid. According to him, it would be up to the Chamber to simply comply with what was decided by the STF.
“In respect for the Federal Constitution, it is the Judiciary that determines the loss of the parliamentary mandate criminally convicted with final and unappealable judgment, and it is up to the Board, under the terms of §3 of article 55 of the Federal Constitution, only to declare the loss of the mandate, that is, to issue a linked administrative act”, he stated.
Zambelli’s allies spoke out on social media with harsh criticism of Moraes. The leader of the Chamber, (RJ), called the minister a “psychopathic dictator”. Sóstenes stated that Moraes abuses his own power.
Moraes’ decision was given ex officio, in the records of Zambelli’s criminal execution. In other words, unrelated to any request included in the process for Moraes to comment on the matter. The last progress of the process took place on Sunday (7), at a request from the Bolsonarista’s defense.
