The discussion about the limits of people’s actions in public life has cooled down and has been at a standstill since 2024. The debate is focused on whether they hold civil positions in the federal, state and municipal administration.
The text, during the (PL) government, by then deputy Perpétua Almeida (PC of B-AC). With the change to the government (PT), the issue ceased to be a priority for the centrão, a group of parties with more deputies in the Chamber and also for the opposition, which blocked the text in the House.
The proposal establishes the removal from the activities of military personnel —including police officers and firefighters— who have less than ten years of service and are nominated to work in government positions.
Furthermore, the text determines that military personnel with more than a decade of experience in the Armed Forces are automatically transferred to the reserve when they are appointed to public service.
The project was designed in the context of the Bolsonaro government, when left-wing parties, then in opposition, were critical of the high presence of military personnel in key positions in the administration. The initiative became known as “PEC de Pazuello”, in reference to the then three-star general, who was Minister of Health.
The military’s management was the target of criticism during the Covid pandemic, especially due to the delay in purchasing vaccines. He is currently a federal deputy for the PL of Rio de Janeiro.
At the time, Perpétua’s PEC gained support from part of the center, which joined the left in criticizing the high presence of military personnel in the public sector. The reason, however, was different: a wing of this group wanted to reduce the presence of uniforms to increase their own participation in the Bolsonaro government.
General Walter Braga Netto, for example, was minister of the Civil House, one of the most important positions in federal management, from 2020 to 2021. Afterwards, the chair was occupied by senator Ciro Nogueira, president of the PP.
A survey by the TCU (Federal Audit Court) identified that 6,157 active and reserve military personnel held civilian positions in the Bolsonaro government. It is more than double the figure calculated in 2018, under the Michel Temer government.
In 2021, Perpétua’s proposal was forwarded to the CCJ (Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Commission), which was supposed to analyze the constitutionality of the PEC, which did not happen. At the time, the collegiate was led by deputy Bia Kicis (PL-DF), a faithful ally of then president Bolsonaro, who stopped the vote.
Deputies Chris Tonietto (PL-RJ) and General Peternelli (União Brasil-SP) were appointed rapporteurs, but left the CCJ before issuing an opinion on the PEC.
In 2023, when the CCJ came under the command of PT member Rui Falcão (SP), deputy Samia Bomfim (PSOL-SP) was chosen as rapporteur of the text. The parliamentarian presented an opinion on the admissibility of the PEC, but it was never voted on due to resistance from the Bolsonaro bench and the lack of appeal in the center, which abandoned the issue after Bolsonaro left power.
To try to obtain the support of the Bolsonarists, the congresswoman included in her report an analysis that the text does not expressly prohibit the participation of the military in the public sector, but still did not receive support.
“The text of the menu informs that the PEC seeks to ‘prohibit active military personnel from occupying a civil position in the public administration’, however it is worth noting that the legislative text itself does not contain an express prohibition, but rather a discipline that, based on the criteria of the military personnel’s length of service, establishes the legal consequences for the military personnel (removal from activity or automatic transfer to inactivity)”, says Samia in the opinion.
Later, in 2024, the CCJ came under the command of Bolsonarian Caroline de Toni (PL-SC) and changed the direction of the proposal again. She appointed her colleague Paulo Bilynskyj (PL-SP) as rapporteur, who issued an opinion on the inadmissibility of the PEC as he understood it to be unconstitutional.
“In this sense, the proposed amendment in question, by innovating in the section under debate, intends to exterminate more civil rights of Brazilians who perform active military functions, thus incurring an offense against civil rights acquired and guaranteed by the Federal Constitution itself in other provisions that are not modified by the PEC”, explained the rapporteur.
In the Chamber, the text remains without a prospect of being voted on. The government base does not present the issue as a priority, and the opposition also showed no interest in unearthing the proposal to approve the opinion for the inadmissibility of the PEC.
In parallel to the discussion on Perpetua’s proposal, the Lula government sent in 2023 the creation of rules to prohibit active military personnel from the Armed Forces from contesting elections or occupying positions at the top level of the Executive.
The text determines that military personnel, upon registering their candidacy, are transferred to the reserve, and may or may not be paid. The government wants to prevent officers from using their influence in the corporation to attract supporters and votes, which would contaminate military activity itself.
The proposal was presented by the leader of the government in , Jaques Wagner (PT-BA). The text was approved by the House’s CCJ and was included on the agenda for a plenary vote in February 2024, but was never taken forward after resistance from the opposition.
As this year’s election approached, a wing of the PT considered a new attack on the matter, but the idea did not prosper in the face of other government priorities in the Legislature, such as the Public Security PEC and the end of the 6×1 scale.
