Pre-candidate for the Presidency, senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) will bet on the defense of the CPI (Parliamentary Inquiry Commission) of Banco Master to try to reverse the fact that he treated former banker Daniel Vorcaro as “my brother” and that R$ 134 million was used to finance a film about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro.
The strategy was drawn up by the campaign team this Wednesday (13) as a way of showing distance from Vorcaro and conveying the image that Flávio is in favor of investigations that reveal which politicians committed crimes and helped Banco Master in fraud, according to four politicians and opposition leaders. Until then, .
The senator has said, since the conversations came to light, that his relationship with Vorcaro does not favor the Master. “It is necessary to separate the innocent from the criminals. In our case, what happened was a son, seeking private sponsorship for a private film about his own father’s story”, said Flávio in a statement.
Despite the speech, members of the PL claim that they see no chance of a CPI being installed because the president of Congress, senator Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), – his allies – are the target of an investigation by the PF (Federal Police) for losses to the Amapá pension fund with contributions to Master.
Allies of the Lula government (PT) also filed their own requests for CPIs on the Master, as a reaction to the opposition’s initiatives that exclusively targeted the relations between STF (Supreme Federal Court) ministers and Vorcaro. They have defended the investigation against the bank on social media and in public speeches, but agree that there is no chance of it being installed before the election.
In the case of the Lulistas, there is also concern that the repercussion of the Master’s frauds affects the government’s image, by drawing attention away from announced policies – such as those to contain fuel prices and the end of the “blouse tax” – and creating among voters a perception of widespread corruption in politics, which tends to affect the ruler more.
Both sides also claim that there are few instruments to pressure Alcolumbre and the president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), to release the requests.
Even the traditional tactic of appealing to the STF to force the opening did not work this time. Three requests have been awaiting a decision from ministers for months and another has already been rejected. Filing a new writ of mandamus, in this case, would be more of a political action than a practical one, although a new action is not ruled out by the opposition.
The opposition also rules out, at least for now, obstructing the House and Senate plenary sessions to force the creation of the CPI. A PL parliamentarian recalls that this was attempted to force the vote on a project to amnesty Bolsonaro and on January 8, 2023, without effect.
The government, on the other hand, has no interest in stopping the agenda and blocking the votes, which includes projects that are Lula’s bets for the election, such as the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) which ends the 6×1 working day.
There are four Master’s CPI requests shelved in the Legislature. In the Chamber, Hugo Motta stated that he will not install Rodrigo Rollemberg’s (PSB-DF) request because there are requests for investigation on other topics filed before. The PSB deputy appealed to the STF to jump the queue, but his request was denied by minister Cristiano Zanin.
In the Senate, Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) filed a request last year and to date has not received a response from Alcolumbre. Senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE) appealed to the Supreme Court to request installation, in the same way as happened with the Covid and INSS CPIs, but minister Kassio Nunes Marques.
Two other requests are for mixed committees, formed by deputies and senators. The first, from February, was proposed by deputy Carlos Jordy (PL-RJ) in February. The other by deputies Fernanda Melchionna (PSOL-RS) and Heloísa Helena (Rede-RJ) at the end of April. To be installed, a session of Congress is necessary, which should no longer occur this semester and tends to wait until after the elections.
There are two actions in the STF requesting the installation of these mixed commissions on the Master. The first, authored by several opposition deputies, has been in secret since March. The second was filed by deputy Kim Kataguiri (Missão-SP) two weeks ago. Both are under the report of Minister André Mendonça, also without a decision yet.
In this case of the CPMI, the opposition also agreed with Alcolumbre to leave it out of the agenda of the Congress session held in April and, in doing so, bury the chances of it being installed.
In exchange, the president of Congress supports the project that reduces the sentences of Bolsonaro and others convicted of the attempted coup d’état. The decision to bury the CPI was questioned only by PSOL deputies at the session. Flávio was present, spoke several times, but denied having participated in an agreement.
