In the final stretch before the hearing for a vacancy in the (Supreme Federal Court), the attorney general of the Union, , has visited senators, prepared to respond on thorny issues and maintains the expectation of a meeting with the president of the House, (União Brasil-AP).
This Wednesday, senators rescheduled the hearing again, again for the 29th, the originally scheduled date — they even brought forward the scheduling by a day, but went back.
Messias must defend senators that the separation of Powers is essential and that the Judiciary sometimes advances the prerogatives of the Legislative and Executive. It must be stated that judges must have limits and a code of ethics for the judiciary would be important.
The nomination of (PT) announced in November and contradicted the president of the House, who became, subject to the approval of at least 41 of the 81 senators.
What Messias and his allies achieved in four months was the neutrality of Alcolumbre, whose relationship with Lula has been improving. The group is still counting the votes and says it believes it will be approved, despite the Bolsonaro opposition claiming it will not.
Allies also take advantage of the fact that the vote is secret, which allows opponents to endorse the name indicated by Lula.
Messiah’s interlocutors say they trust the minister’s ability in personal conversations. He is considered by allies as someone good at dialogue, a peacemaker and a technician. In meetings with senators, he has presented his history and experience in public office to try to deconstruct the image of an ideological PT member.
This week, Messias was with opponents such as Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ) and senators from the government base, mainly from the MDB. The kiss has already reached more than 75 senators, and the optimistic count of votes in favor is around 48.
Those around Messias want Alcolumbre to receive him and for the meeting to consolidate the understanding between them, as the nominee would not have any regrets. For him, it would be natural for the president of the Senate to prefer his ally (PSB-MG), whose aspirations for the STF are also seen as legitimate.
This group celebrated what they saw as positive signs from Alcolumbre, and allowing the pilgrimage of Messiah in the House. Despite still working for his support, pro-Messiah senators say they cannot demand this from Alcolumbre, that they respect his position and that it is a great help that he does not show opposition.
Likewise, publicly, they were also read as important. Messias’ assessment to those close to him is that the support for the senator in the House was expected, as was the frustration, which requires time to heal.
The articulation by votes involves several fronts. In the STF, it was essential, according to allies. and they also participated.
In the Senate, Teresa Leitão (PT-PE) and Dr. Eudócia (PSDB-AL), who is evangelical, are in charge of convincing the women’s bench, of 15 members. In addition to evangelicals and government supporters, Messias has the support of the MDB and the PSD.
APPROVAL SCOREBOARD OF STF MINISTERS IN THE SENATE
- Flávio Dino: 47 to 31, with 2 abstentions
- Cristiano Zanin: 58 at 18
- André Mendonça: 47 to 32
- Nunes Marques: 57 to 10, with 1 abstention
- Alexandre de Moraes: 55 to 13
- Edson Fachin: 52 to 27
- Luiz Fux: 68 to 2
- Dias Toffoli: 58 to 9, with 3 abstentions
- Carmen Lúcia: 55 to 1
- Gilmar Mendes: 58 to 15
To be approved, the head of the AGU must try to avoid political disputes and contamination by the case. The hearing takes place at a time of high tension between the Senate and the STF, after the clash and the.
dominated the plenary this week, with splashes on Messiah.
“If we want to preserve a liberal democracy, which allows for different views of the world, the time has come, and the great response that this Parliament can give. […] We need to say no to Mr. Jorge Messias, whom I respect as a citizen, but I cannot believe that he, within the Federal Supreme Court, will contribute in any way to improving the credibility conditions of that institution”, said the opposition leader, Rogério Marinho (PL-RN).
Defender of Messiah and says he “fulfills all the requirements”.
“He has renowned legal knowledge, has an unblemished reputation and is the Union’s attorney general. He is a young person who has a brilliant career,” he stated.
Despite expecting difficult topics in the hearing, Messias’ assistants say he will avoid banana peels and topics like and (MDB-SE). The attorney general already has ready answers to recurring or controversial questions.
For sensitive topics, such as the Master, the response must be institutional, in the sense that the scandal is serious, but that the analysis must be procedural, regarding evidence and authorship, without pre-judgment and with broad defense.
The discourse in relation to the scandal, a CPI topic, is that the scheme was disrupted during the Lula government. Messias must defend the work of the AGU, saying that the body led the construction of the proposal for the return of amounts to those affected last July.
Abortion, January 8 and amendments
The nominee’s assistants list possible topics for the meeting o and o. In the first case, Messias will defend the 2024 AGU opinion that ruled on the unconstitutionality of a CFM (Federal Council of Medicine) resolution that prohibited legal abortion in fetuses over 22 weeks. He claims to have a legalistic stance on the matter.
The AGU argues that the resolution made legal abortion in cases of rape difficult, in practice, and that it is not up to the CFM to impose a time limit on a procedure that is a women’s right. The text surreptitiously intended, says the opinion, to change the law on abortion, which is the responsibility of the National Congress.
Regarding the coup action in Praça dos Três Poderes, Messias has said that he fulfilled his constitutional role by calling for the arrest in the act of those who invaded and vandalized public property.
The , which motivated actions against parliamentarians in the STF, can also be discussed. Messias has already publicly defended the constitutionality of the amendments, as long as they meet transparency and efficiency criteria. For him, the legislative representative is the one who is best able to access the population’s demands.
