Members and allies of the government (PT) seek to associate the senator (-RJ), the PT’s main opponent in this year’s election, with the Master case after the PF () against the senator (-PI), president of the PP and former government minister (PL).
The PF claims that the former owner of Master, , paid up to R$500,000 a month to the senator. One of the signs pointed out against Ciro is the attempt to approve, in , the expansion of FGC (Credit Guarantee Fund) coverage from R$250,000 to R$1 million per depositor. The change would benefit the Master.
“The new operation shows the intimacy of the Bolsonaro government’s heart with the BolsoMaster scheme,” said the government leader in the Chamber, (-RS). He defended the creation of a CPI on the scandal.
The expectation of Lula’s allies is that, at least for now, the president will not make strong statements about the operation spontaneously. The task of eroding Bolsonarism based on the accusations against Ciro would fall to ministers, congressmen and other political allies. The assessment, however, is that the PT member will be unlikely to get around the issue if questioned in an interview.
Lula and his allies are looking for a way to contain the increase in voting intentions for Flávio Bolsonaro. He was a pre-candidate for president by his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, at the end of last year. Now, it appears in the polls for the second round of the presidential election.
Obstacles to reacting to the government
Despite the opportunity for electoral gains, government officials interviewed by the report also point out a likely political difficulty worsened by the operation against Ciro Nogueira. At least some of the organizers at Palácio do Planalto believe that the PF’s action will further deteriorate the climate in Congress.
Ciro is one of the main leaders of the centrão, a group of deputies and senators from different parties who are allied with different governments. Lula needs the votes of these congressmen in discussions on the main projects, since his closest allies are a minority in Congress.
The main ones are the reduction of working hours with the end of the six-day work schedule for one rest day and measures to contain fuel prices, which are on the rise due to the United States’ war against Iran.
It is common in the center to say that the government encourages investigations into the Master case to target political opponents. Lula’s allies believe that this interpretation should be reinforced by the operation against Ciro.
The government says it has no control over Federal Police delegates and much less over André Mendonça, who is currently the rapporteur of the case at the STF and arrived at the court through Bolsonaro’s nomination.
Lula had two important defeats in the Legislature last week.
The congressmen to reduce the sentences of Jair Bolsonaro and others in the processes related to the on January 8, 2023.
Furthermore, it imposed one on Lula by blocking the appointment of the Union’s attorney general, for an open position in the STF. The last time the House had barred a nominee of the President of the Republic from the court was in .
The rejection of Messias is, in part, attributed by political sectors to the Master case. Lula’s nominee had the . Senators unhappy with the investigations would have, by voting against Messias, tried to prevent Mendonça, who is the case’s rapporteur, from gaining an ally in the Supreme Court.
Government organizers believe that this reasoning even guided Ciro Nogueira, who had declared a vote in favor of Messias. Government officials say they believe that he decided to oppose Lula’s nominee after realizing that the president of the Senate, (União-AP), had obtained the necessary votes to block the attorney general.
