The imposed a historic defeat on the president (PT) and rejected the nomination of , 46, to the (Supreme Federal Court).
The decision is the result of a struggle between Congress and the Palácio do Planalto, added to a long process of erosion of the Judiciary leadership and a strengthening of the right in the scenario leading up to the elections.
In a secret vote, 42 senators spoke against Messias’ approval for the STF, and 34 were in favor of Lula’s nominee. 41 favorable senators were needed.
In the Senate’s CCJ (Constitution and Justice Committee), Messias had been approved by 16 votes to 11, after around eight hours of hearings, in the tightest score since redemocratization.
Messias did intense work to court right-wing parliamentarians by reinforcing the fact that he was evangelical and signaled to senators that he agreed with reducing tensions between the STF and Congress, but the appeals were not enough to overcome tensions between the two sides.
The episode inaugurates a serious crisis between the Executive and Legislative branches. It was the first time that the Senate, when five names chosen by Floriano Peixoto for the court were blocked.
The overthrow of Messiah was sponsored by the president of the Senate, (-AP). He defended the choice of his ally (PSB-MG) for the STF and made it difficult for Messias to be approved.
Alcolumbre’s pressure opened a clash between the Senate and Lula. The President of the Republic contradicted the parliamentarian and insisted on choosing a name he trusted — since Messias is a minister at the AGU (Attorney General of the Union), worked for former president Dilma Rousseff and is close to the PT.
The dispute intensified when Alcolumbre started working behind the scenes to garner votes against Messias. Without a favorable gesture from Alcolumbre, who influences a large part of the Senate’s votes, Lula’s nominee did not reach the minimum necessary, even though he asked for support and presented himself to 78 of the 81 senators.
For Alcolumbre’s allies, the result is a display of strength from the senator. He demonstrated that he has great influence over the House and a message that the government’s choices need to be negotiated with him.
Five months before the presidential election, the PT member, who faces a more hostile climate in the Chamber, also lost his governability in the Senate.
This Wednesday’s result was also interpreted by the Alcolumbre group as a reflection of the strengthening of the senator’s (-RJ) presidential candidacy. His growth in the polls gave momentum to the right to face both the Lula government and STF ministers, who were engaged in the campaign in favor of Messias.
Flávio declared a vote against Lula’s nominee and, during the hearing, questioned Messias about the conduct of STF ministers, in particular the role of minister Alexandre de Moraes in the trial of the coup attempt that condemned the senator’s father, former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Other opposition senators openly said that Congress should reject Messias to postpone filling the vacancy, citing the electoral scenario and the right’s chances of victory as justifications.
In addition to Lula’s defeat, the rejection of Messias is seen by senators as a message to the court, the target of impeachment requests that were never released for voting by Alcolumbre.
Before the rejection of Messias’ name, the tightest scores in voting for nominees for the STF had been those of André Mendonça (Jair Bolsonaro government) and Flávio Dino (Lula 3 government), who had 47 votes in favor.
In the days leading up to the vote, the Planalto Palace welcomed senators. Changes were also made to the composition of the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission) to make it more pro-government during the hearing. But the efforts were in vain.
Ten years ago, after Messias because of a phone call from (PT) tapped and released by Operation Lava Jato while the impeachment of the former president was taking place.
As shown by SheetMessias’ approval was uncertain and predicted a tight score, with around 45 senators in favor. The articulation also involved the release of amendments and the replacement of opposition members in the CCJ.
Until the last moment, Alcolumbre made the gesture of formally receiving the nominee.
As Alcolumbre and Messias only met on one occasion, at the house of minister Cristiano Zanin, last week. In a brief conversation, the nominee asked for support from the head of the Senate, who only committed to following the voting procedure and ensuring a peaceful environment.
The dilemma with Alcolumbre imposed on Messias the longest nomination process among the court’s current ministers considering the moment his choice was announced, in November.
At the time, the president of the Senate, whose name was only formally sent to the House on April 1, when a.
Pacheco, in turn, tried to help Messias, according to the opinion of the minister’s allies. The senator is expected to run for the Government of Minas Gerais with the support of Lula and has made public statements favorable to the attorney general.
Messias also featured, such as, Kassio Nunes Marques, and Zanin. Religious leaders give the nominated one, who is evangelical.
The hearing took place amid the intensification of the crisis between the STF and the Senate and with the scandal as a backdrop. Congressmen, mainly from the Bolsonarist opposition, see the court exacerbating its powers and try to frame ministers with requests for impeachment and CPIs (Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry). On the other side, members of the Supreme Court target political enemies with investigations.
The arguments that Messias’ nomination did not represent pacification between the Powers and that his rejection could be a necessary response from the Senate were used by Bolsonarists who declared a vote against.
The declared opposition bloc to the AGU brought together around 30 senators, mainly from PL, Novo, Republicans and PP. Even right-wing evangelicals stated that they would vote against because they saw Messias as more aligned with the PT than with conservatism.
In an attempt to avoid defeat, Messias sought to free himself from the image of an ideological PT member and present himself as a technician to be approved – he is not affiliated with the PT, but has Lula’s trust.
Messias was a Central Bank attorney, Finance attorney, legal consultant for the Ministries of Education and Science, Technology and Innovation, deputy head of Legal Affairs of the Civil House in the Dilma government and chief of staff for Senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), before taking over as head of the AGU in the Lula 3 government.
