Despite indicating to allies that he should go to battle with a new nomination of Jorge Messias to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) signaled to people close to him in recent days that he should not send, for now, nominations for vacancies in agencies and regulatory bodies after the Senate imposed a historic defeat on the government with the rejection of the Union’s attorney general.
According to reports from government supporters and members of the PT Esplanada, there is no climate today for negotiations with the president of Congress, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), who, in the majority assessment of the government, orchestrated this defeat of Messias three weeks ago. Publicly, the senator denies having acted in this regard.
According to these interlocutors of Lula, today the assessment is that the president would not be willing to negotiate with Alcolumbre. As president of the Senate, he is responsible for sending nominations for analysis by senators in committees and, later, in the House plenary. Therefore, to approve a name a political agreement with the senator is necessary, which is seen by Lula’s allies as unlikely at this time.
Lula’s aides claim that an environment was not created for sending names and that the Planalto is facing the moment of greatest tension with the Senate since the beginning of Lula’s third term. An ally says that the sending of these names should only happen after a direct conversation between the PT member and Alcolumbre, which is not yet scheduled to occur. When contacted via the press office, the parliamentarian did not respond.
The PT’s assistants recognize that there is no climate today for any approach to Alcolumbre. An interlocutor of Lula’s who has been in dialogue with Alcolumbre in recent weeks states that he sees no willingness for a personal meeting between the two at this time, signaling that there are still open wounds and that it will be necessary for one of the two to signal a white flag.
The two authorities met for the first time in public at the inauguration ceremony of the new presidency of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). Sitting side by side, Alcolumbre and Lula did not speak during the ceremony. This Wednesday, they also attended the inauguration ceremony of Odair Cunha as minister of the Federal Audit Court (TCU).
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Given this scenario, members of the government state, with reservations, that there is concern about the delay in sending these indications, stating that they are vague strategic points that could harm the functioning of these bodies. As GLOBO showed, there are at least 14 vacant positions on boards or in command of these bodies.
Among them are nominations for the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac), the National Mining Agency (ANM) and the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel). Before Messias’ defeat, Planalto said it would use these posts to negotiate with Alcolumbre the approval of the head of the AGU, in an attempt to reduce resistance from parliamentarians to the minister’s name. At that moment, Alcolumbre denied having discussed the nomination of these vacancies with Lula.
Since the beginning of the PT member’s third term, there has been a struggle between the leadership of the Senate and Planalto for control of these nominations. Behind the scenes, they talk about an agreement in which half of the positions would be sponsored by senators and the other half would be reserved for the government.
This Wednesday, senators approved two nominations for the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM): Otto Lobo, who will assume the presidency of the body, and Igor Muniz, who will occupy a position on the authority’s board of directors.
Lobo’s appointment by Lula, in January, was poorly received by the market and became the target of criticism, given the decisions he made in the body that favored Daniel Vorcaro, from Banco Master. It also generated tension between the PT member and Alcolumbre. This is because news circulated that Lobo was nominated by the president of the Senate, which was denied by the parliamentarian.
According to Lula’s interlocutors, an exception would be the two vacancies open on the board of directors of the Central Bank, given the pressure to nominate names due to the Banco Master scandal. Allies defend prioritizing these nominations even in a scenario of tension with the Senate leadership. A group of assistants believes that the names should be sent before the October elections.
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Political dispute
Those around Lula say that the president believes it is important to carry out this political dispute as he understands that it is the Presidency’s prerogative to send names for analysis by the Senate. An ally of his also states that the PT member must maintain the institutional relationship with Congress and seek the approval of agendas considered priorities for the government that are in progress. In this sense, there will be no movement to break away from Alcolumbre.
The president has told allies that he should resend Messias’ name for the Supreme Court vacancy, which displeased Alcolumbre and angered the political group closest to the senator, further straining the climate between Planalto and the Congress leadership.
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Even in this scenario, a group of Lula’s allies defends lowering the boil with Alcolumbre. This is because this more pragmatic group assesses that any noise with Parliament in an election year could be harmful to the PT campaign. A politician close to Lula says he defends a gesture of rapprochement on the part of the PT member to improve relations with Congress.
Another group, however, considers it necessary to politicize this debate. This wing of the government and pro-government parliamentarians says that it is possible to reverse Messias’ defeat and reap political and electoral gains if there is tension with Congress, rescuing the rhetoric of the “Congress, the enemy of the people”. This position, however, should be more restricted to militancy and the PT, precisely to avoid greater noise with parliamentarians.
