Hours after , the president () and allies mapped out betrayals in the vote that culminated in the rejection of the name for the STF (Supreme Federal Court) on Wednesday night (29).
In a meeting at the official residence of the Presidency, Palácio da Alvorada, shortly after the end of voting, members of the government and allies identified dissent within and within the PSD, in a collusion led by the president of , (-AP).
In addition to Alcolumbre’s actions, the president’s collaborators point to the participation of senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSB-MG) and minister Alexandre de Moraes, from the STF, in a pact to prevent Messias’ appointment.
Pacheco was Alcolumbre’s chosen candidate to run for the Supreme Court, while Lula reiterated his intention to have the senator as his candidate for the Government of Minas Gerais, in search of a strong platform in the state. Lula ended up nominating Messias after conversations with those involved, but still against the head of the Senate.
The agreement, according to Lula’s interlocutors, would have been sealed during a dinner on Tuesday night (28), at the official residence of the president of the Senate, with the aim of avoiding a new correlation of forces in the court. Messias would have upset ministers by expressing sympathy for the adoption of a code of ethics in the court.
Among Lula’s allies, suspicions fall on the former Minister of Transport and his father, the senator, both from the MDB of Alagoas. The suspicion is that they would have voted against the appointment of Messias in solidarity with Bruno Dantas, minister of the (Court of Auditors of the Union) who coveted the court’s vacancy.
The president’s allies are betting on the dismissal of Alcolumbre’s nominees, such as ministers Waldez Góes (Regional Integration and Development) and Frederico Siqueira (Communications). According to participants at the meeting, Lula showed serenity as he sought to comfort Messias.
The AGU had 34 votes in favor of the nomination (seven less than necessary) and 42 votes against. This was the first rejection of a nominee of the President of the Republic to the STF since 1894.
Between the end of the vote in the Senate and the convening of the meeting between government members, Lula and Messias spoke by phone. In addition to the concern about Messias’ emotional state, the president’s allies say that he often repeats that “you shouldn’t make decisions when you have a fever of 39 degrees.”
Because of this, any reaction is expected next week, after the holiday and the identification of those responsible for the defeat.
Also during the meeting, the president’s agenda with the schedule for this Thursday (30) was published informing a meeting with the Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Feliciano, as the first appointment of the day. Although an ally of (-PB), Feliciano is a nominee of Alcolumbre’s party, União Brasil.
Upon leaving Congress, on the way to Alvorada, the minister (Institutional Relations) stated that the time is to act with intelligence, not with liver. Still during the hearing, Guimarães was at Palácio da Alvorada to talk to the president. In Congress, it even took the approval of the AGU for granted with more than 41 votes, the minimum necessary.
With Messias’ rejection, Guimarães faces defeat in one of his main missions since taking over as head of the government’s political articulation in place of Gleisi Hoffmann (PT).
During the hearing, the government leader in the Senate (PT-BA) also visited Lula. The president reportedly asked the senator what the mood would be like for the hearing and approval, to which Wagner reported that everything was going well.
