The links between Jaques Wagner and the Master case turned into a shielding test for the pre-presidential campaign of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). Behind the scenes, pressure is growing for the senator to leave the leadership of the government in the Senate, given the fear that the scandal will contaminate the PT (Workers’ Party) electoral project at a time considered to be a boom for the party.
Contrary to what part of the PT and the president’s assistants expected, Jaques Wagner did not resign from his position. Even those closest to PT advocate that he provides more detailed explanations about the suspicions raised after the PF (Federal Police) operation that targeted him. New conversations between the senator and Lula are expected until the beginning of next week.
PT leaders articulate a strategy built on three fronts to contain possible damage to the president. The first is to reinforce that it is between Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) and Lula, and not between Flávio Bolsonaro and Jaques Wagner.
The second is to explore the differences between the relationships between Flávio Bolsonaro and Jaques Wagner with Daniel Vorcaro — the PT intends to remember that the former president’s son visited the businessman, exchanged audio with him, asked for money and, initially, denied being close to the former banker.
The third front is to transform the operation itself into a political argument: according to the PT, the investigation against one of the president’s main allies would serve as a demonstration that the Federal Police acts without interference from the Palácio do Planalto.
One by colleagues would be justified by the need for Jaques Wagner to dedicate himself to his own defense and the pre-campaign for re-election to the Senate for Bahia. Questioned by the press during an agenda in Belo Horizonte this Friday (19), Lula did not respond directly about the ally’s situation.
Why hasn’t Wagner left yet?
According to reporter Luciana Amaral, in WWit is necessary to take into account Jaques Wagner’s trajectory within the PT to understand the resistance to his departure. “Jaques is not just any parliamentarian”, stated the reporter, highlighting that he was governor of Bahia, held ministerial positions in the Lula and Dilma Rousseff governments and is one of the founders of the party.
The relationship between Wagner and Lula dates back to the time of union activity, which gives the senator a different level of trust and camaraderie.
Furthermore, the election in Bahia remains disputed, with Jerônimo Rodrigues (PT) seeking re-election to the state government in a fierce dispute with ACM Neto (União Brasil), making the state strategic for Lula at a national level.
Luciana Amaral also pointed out that an immediate exchange could be interpreted as an admission of fragility or guilt — exactly what Planalto wants to avoid. Another factor is that Lula tends to resist taking action under intense external pressure, especially when historical figures from the party are involved.
The reporter also highlighted that the pressure on Wagner is not new: it has existed since Jorge Messias’ defeat in the rejection of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), and only intensified with the Master case.
The political weight of the scandal
For Leonardo Barreto, Jaques Wagner’s situation could be even more serious than that of Flávio Bolsonaro in the same episode, precisely because a large part of the process was born in Bahia and because Wagner is considered “Lula’s guy in the National Congress”.
“If I were Jaques Wagner, I would soak my white beard, because history is not usually generous with President Lula’s surroundings,” said Barreto, recalling cases such as those of José Dirceu, João Paulo Cunha, José Genoino and Antônio Palocci.
During the WWanalyst and presenter Thais Herédia also highlighted that the topic of corruption has skyrocketed in surveys throughout this year, going from fourth or fifth place among Brazilians’ biggest concerns to a sharp rise in the last two months. “How are campaigns going to get rid of dealing with the issue of corruption?” asked Herédia.
