The interview given by the Minister of Justice, Wellington César Lima e Silva, and directors of the Federal Police to comment on the police operation that arrested former BRB president Paulo Henrique, this Thursday morning, was a request from the Minister of Social Communication (Secom), Sidônio Palmeira. The strategy was to use the investigations involving Banco Master to highlight the Executive’s actions in the fight against organized crime, given the fear among allies of the influence that the case could have on this year’s electoral dispute.
Although the case did not reveal direct implications for members of the government, Lula’s allies, such as the president of the PT, Edinho Silva, point out that the repercussions involving the Master bank financial scandal have influenced the drop in the president’s popularity.
– The research is a snapshot of the moment, and reflects the growth of anti-system sentiment, mainly due to the allegations of corruption that the country is experiencing. In the eyes of society, if there is corruption, the responsibility lies with the government, it belongs with the institutions, and the President of the Republic is the greatest institutional leader in the country – he declared.
In the government, however, Lula’s interlocutors find themselves faced with a dilemma about how to handle the case. On the one hand, there is fear among allies in exploring the investigations due to suspicions raised about the involvement of ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) with Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Master. On the other hand, members of Palácio do Planalto defend giving more publicity to the investigations as a way of reinforcing the discourse that Lula acts against organized crime and, in particular, “from upstairs”, as the PT member has repeated in his speeches.
The initiative to invite the Minister of Justice to talk about today’s operation is part of this strategy, which is still being tested. The Minister of Justice, for example, went to the interview without having details of the operation and only three questions were answered to the journalists. Asked whether the call for an interview to comment on the operation related to Master was related to the government’s attempt to capitalize politically on the investigations, Wellington denied it and said that the reason was the “duty to inform”.
— The Social Communication Secretariat (Secom) contacted us saying that many people were asking for information — he said.
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The unprecedented interview was called after an internal dispute between Secom and the PT leadership. Members of Lula’s party argue that the case should be linked to the right and have become convinced that this will be one of the themes of the election. Meanwhile, Secom is still looking for a tone to praise what the government did to stop fraud.
Given this, the pre-campaign began to develop attack strategies to paste the Master case to opponents, gathering information and connections from those involved with the right. At first, however, there will be caution in attacks during the period of setting up electoral platforms, where the PT must count on allies from the center in several states.
