The approval of the represents the greatest offensive in history made by the legislature against the so -called white collar crimes, frame erected from the 1980s on a march packed by impacts of successive corruption scandals.
The current proposal, which is now under analysis in the Senate, aims to block cases against misconduct committed by senators, federal deputies and state deputies, as well as creating a privileged forum for presidents of political parties.
The writing of the proposal includes loopholes and omissions with the potential to paralyze ongoing cases throughout the country, as well as instituting the performance of justice in the civil, electoral and labor areas against parliamentarians suspected of deviations.
The project has gained traction in recent times due to the various clashes between Congress and (Supreme Court), which adopted decisions considered by parliamentarians such as abusive and attacking the balance between powers.
Allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro (), in particular, are the spearhead in Congress against court ministers, including Alexandre de Moraes and Flávio Dino-the rapporteur of several cases that aims to pockets, the main one, the scammer’s plot; The second, a rapporteur of investigations on suspicion of corruption involving the billionaires parliamentary amendments.
Sheltering several suspects of deflecting amendment funds, and allied with Bolsonaro’s PL and some left -wing parliamentarians to get the autoblinding.
The project is cursed to establish that to process a parliamentarian the Supreme Court needs to request a license from the House or Senate, which must analyze this request in a secret vote. The rule would be repeated in legislative assemblies, in the case of state deputies.
The main laws seeking to curb and punish white collar crimes began to take shape in the 1980s, after the end of the military dictatorship (1964-1985).
The call, for example, of 1986, aims to punish perpetrators and typify crimes against the national financial system. She was driven by fraud such as the, one of the largest financial scandals of the military regime.
Other cases, such as the DOS, in the 1990s, the DO, in 2005, and DOS, in 2006, also served as a boost for new proposals to combat corruption, the main flag of the gigantic street protests that shaken the country in June 2013.
The broad history of impunity relating to congressmen, for example, forced Congress to end the rule that, now, 24 years later, Congress itself wants to resume more broadly.
That year, the end of the requirement of authorization from the legislature so that parliamentarians could be processed in the so -called “ethical package” led by the then presidents of the House, Aécio Neves (MG), and Senate, Edison Lobão (MA).
Then came laws such as a, which penalized in the civil area of public agents involved in deviations, which created the Coaf (Financial Activities Control Board), and the, managed for the purpose of removing convicted by the court of the public arena.
In 2013 came the and.
The game began to turn from 2016, the year when it began to rehearse a reaction to the shake caused in the political world by Operation Lava Jato.
Investigations commanded by the task force of and under the baton of then Judge Sergio Moro were still at the height of prestige in public opinion, but left, downtown and right parties articulated in the House and managed to stop the approval of the call, Deltan’s flag.
Lava Jato would decline from 2019, after the revelation by The Intercept Brazil from during the investigations, which allowed a political and legal advance that emptied it completely and would make it the main symbol of the counterattack against white collar laws.
The most effective reaction began in 2019, first of Bolsonaro management.
In May, the Centrão barred Coaf’s trip to the Moro Ministry of Justice, which had just abandoned the judiciary to embark on the Bolsonaro government.
Months later Congress approved, detailing punishment to excesses during investigations and processes.
In 2021, the House approved under the presidency of Arthur Lira (PP-AL)-which had been convicted in two actions for misconduct in Alagoas-, requiring proof of intent, ie the intention to injure the Public Administration.
Defenders of the measure point out that this was important to prevent mere management failures from being characterized as corruption.
“I understand that the armor PEC is undoubtedly a contrary march to the fight against corruption, the crimes of white collar, and is absolutely violating the republican principle, which determines that the rulers are held responsible for their acts,” says Flávia Bahia, professor at FGV Law Rio.
“The proposal weakens the fight against corruption and creates a scenario of systemic impunity by establishing mechanisms that, instead of reinforcing accountability, expand privileges and reduce the reach of criminal law on the political class,” says lawyer Berlinque Caintelmo.
Experts say the Supreme Court itself played a prominent role in this attack on the legal framework of white collar crimes.
In addition to sponsoring the dismantling of Lava Jato, in 2019 the court limited Coaf’s action, which at the time suspended more than 900 investigations across the country, and changed its own jurisprudence to decide that a convict can only be arrested after the so -called “res judicata”.
Another highlighted point are decisions that would violate parliamentary immunities to the taste of circumstances.
A Sheet He sent questions to Motta and Claudio Cajado (PP-BA), chosen by Centrão to report the PEC of the armor, but there was no manifestation.
In a speech in the plenary, Motta classified PEC as very important “to bring constitutional guarantees” to parliamentary mandates. In an interview, staff said there was no impunity. “Prerogatives are not privileges. It is the strengthening of institutions. The House is composed of members who have to have freedom of expression and vote without fear of external actions.”
