The minister of AGU (Attorney General of the Union), 46, stated this Wednesday (29) that it is not easy, but that the House is sovereign and it is necessary to accept its decisions.
The imposed a historic defeat on the president (PT) and rejected Messias’ nomination to the (Supreme Federal Court). The last time this had happened was in 1894, when five names chosen by former president Floriano Peixoto for the court were blocked.
“It is not simple for someone with my trajectory to experience failure, but I learned that my life is in God’s hands. He knows all things, he has a plan. I fulfilled my purpose, and people need to understand that sometimes the answers we face are not the ones we would like. But they are the answers that are given and we have to accept the result. I fought the good fight like every Christian”, said Messias in his first speech after the Senate’s decision.
The rejection is the result of a struggle between Congress and the Palácio do Planalto, added to a long process of erosion of the Judiciary leadership and a strengthening of the right in the scenario leading up to the elections.
In a secret vote, 42 senators spoke against Messias’ approval for the STF, and 34 were in favor of Lula’s nominee. 41 favorable senators were needed. The government stated throughout the day that it was counting on 45 votes.
Messias also stated that his story does not end with the result. “I have a history, I have a CV, I have a clean life. I went through a process of deconstructing my image for five months, all sorts of lies to deconstruct me occurred. We know who promoted all of this”, he stated.
Lula’s nominee also highlighted the work he did in search of approval, when he visited the offices of 78 senators. He said that the day marks a “process that has great meaning”, thanked him for the votes he received and stated that he was sincere during the sabbatical. “It is part of the democratic process to know how to win and know how to lose.”
The Minister of Institutional Relations, José Guimarães, was at Messias’ side after the defeat. “It is now up to the Senate to explain the reasons for this disapproval and we obviously accept the result with the greatest possible serenity”, stated Guimarães.
According to him, the nominee met all the necessary requirements to be approved. “Messiah was among the most qualified in Brazil’s legal environment”, he concluded.
The vote in the plenary took place after eight hours of hearing at the Senate’s CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission). In the collegiate, Messias had been approved by 16 votes to 11, in the tightest score since redemocratization.
During the hearing, Messias courted right-wing parliamentarians by reinforcing the fact that he was evangelical and signaled to senators that he agreed with the Judiciary’s self-restraint and the need to reduce tensions between the STF and Congress, but the appeals were not enough.
Right-wing and opposition senators saw the rejection as an indication that the climate in the Senate regarding the STF is changing due to public pressure after the Master case and the coup convictions.
“We have ministers involved in crimes and we don’t want that. We want a strong Supreme Court, one that Brazil can believe in. This was not an indication to strengthen the Supreme Court and strengthen Brazil. This was an indication to make life easier for the President of the Republic”, stated Senator Mara Gabrilli (PSD-SP).
Parliamentarians do not rule out, however, that the stance of (União-AP) was important in stamping the rejection. According to reports made to SheetAlcolumbre asked at least two senators to vote against Messias. The president of the Senate denies it.
The movement behind the scenes contrasts with the public stance of the senator, who told Lula’s interlocutors that he would remain neutral, without asking Messias for votes, but also without acting to harm him.
For Alcolumbre’s allies, the result is a display of strength from the senator. He demonstrated that he has great influence over the House and a message that the government’s choices need to be negotiated with him.
Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), who will compete with Lula in the presidential elections this year, says that the rejection was an “institutional response to everything that is happening” and that the Lula government “lost its governability from that moment on”.
“The Senate gave a response at the right time here to respect the political class, to return to institutional harmony, a message of wear and tear, of dissatisfaction with the government.”
Since Lula passed over Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), supported by Alcolumbre, and nominated Messias for the vacancy, he and the president of the Senate have grown apart. In recent weeks, but the result marks a new moment in the relationship.
The government even did so, but was unsuccessful. The president of the Senate did not even agree to meet with the nominee.
According to Mônica Bergamo’s column. Messias asked Alcolumbre for support, who did not commit.
