the attorney general of the Union, appointed by (PT) to a vacancy in the (Supreme Federal Court), stated that he was against abortion and tried to placate criticism from Bolsonarists. .
Afterwards, Messias said he was “totally against, absolutely” and told senators that he would not take “any type of action or activism” on the issue. He highlighted that, as , he is personally against the practice.
The AGU also said that legislating on abortion is “the exclusive competence of”. Despite this, he stated that it is necessary to “look with humanity” at “women, adolescents and life” by highlighting the “restricted possibilities” that make the practice possible.
Today, there is the possibility of legal abortion when the pregnancy is the result of rape, when the pregnant woman’s life is at risk and in cases of fetal anencephaly.
Messias responded to a , from 2024, which opined that a resolution by the CFM (Federal Council of Medicine) that prohibited legal abortion in fetuses over 22 weeks was unconstitutional.
In the piece, 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 parliamentarians.
In his response, Messias defended the AGU’s understanding, but highlighted that his personal position is against abortion. Shortly before that, he highlighted that the State must be secular.
The nominee was also questioned about the AGU’s role in the, something that is the target of criticism from the Bolsonarista senators, for whom there is an alignment between Messias and the STF in the punishment considered too harsh for the coup attack.
Messias stated that the AGU requested the arrest in the act, and not preventively, of the people who participated in the attacks on the headquarters of the Powers because this was its constitutional duty.
“I will never be happy about adopting measures restricting someone’s freedom, I did it out of obligation, out of a duty of office. […] I didn’t do it with joy, I did it with pain”, he stated. Messias also said that not taking care of the Union’s assets would be prevaricating and, therefore, he adopted the legal measures that were his responsibility.
The attorney general did not fail to criticize the attempt to regain power by force and highlighted that Lula had been democratically elected. “Violence is never an option for democracy. […] This is not democracy. This House was invaded,” he said.
Faced with uncertainty in the score and tight forecasts, the Palácio do Planalto with senators in the final stretch of the process, which began in November and generated a , (-AP).
In addition to passing the scrutiny of the commission, made up of 27 members, Messias needs to win 41 votes among 81 senators, in a secret deliberation that should take place in the plenary this Wednesday, after the hearing. The last arguments of nominees to the STF lasted between 7 hours and 11 hours.
This month, Senate leaders promoted changes in the composition of the CCJ to help Messias with the entry of five names more aligned with the government. The entry of former minister Renan Filho (MDB-AL) in place of Sergio Moro (PL-PR) and Ana Paula Lobato (PSB-MA) in place of Angelo Coronel (PSD-BA) stands out.
Among the current STF ministers, the longest hearing was that of Edson Fachin, in 2015, which lasted 12h39. The shortest was, in 2006, 2h11. The tightest scores, with 47 votes in favor, were and .
Before the hearing, Messias presented himself in person to 78 senators, but was not formally received by Alcolumbre, who was asked by the president of the Senate to unlock the support of the group of congressmen linked to him and, thus, guarantee approval.
Without this signaling, the result must be defined by a small margin of votes. Messias and Alcolumbre only had a brief and informal conversation during an event at the minister’s house. At the time, the AGU asked for support, but the senator did not commit.
Upset with the choice of Lula by Messias and not by senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSB-MG), Alcolumbre even worked to reject the nominee. In the last five months, government coordination has alleviated the situation.
In conversations with senators and now in the hearing, the attorney general’s objective is, he is not punitive and defends the family — in other words, he is not the ideological PT member portrayed by his opponents.
Appointed to replace Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, Messias was a Central Bank attorney, Treasury attorney, legal advisor to the Ministries of Education and Science, Technology and Innovation and chief of staff to the senator (PT-BA), before taking over as head of the AGU in the Lula 3 government.
A trusted name for Lula and the PT, Messias was deputy head of Legal Affairs at the Civil House from 2014 to 2016, in the (PT) government. At the time, when mentioned by the PT member in a conversation with Lula intercepted by Operation Lava Jato, ten years ago. The then president tried to appoint Lula as minister amid the impeachment crisis.
Messias prepared to respond to topics that will probably be addressed such as INSS and Master scandals, in addition to the crisis between the Powers.
Messias, in addition to requests for votes from minister André Mendonça, also an evangelical. On the other hand, , made up mostly of names from the Bolsonarist right.
In addition to Mendonça, Messias had help from ministers Kassio Nunes Marques, both appointed by Jair Bolsonaro (PL), and ministers Cristiano Zanin and .
By announcing the choice of Messias, on November 20, Lula contradicted most of the Senate and the STF, which preferred Pacheco’s nomination, e.g. The appointment of another white man to the court on Black Awareness Day also generated criticism from entities.
