The federal government will receive contributions from civil society, other branches of government and other sectors of the country before finalizing and submitting to Congress the proposal that amends the Federal Constitution to expand the Union’s responsibilities in public security. The decision was made this Wednesday (7), during a meeting between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and ministers at the Planalto Palace.
According to the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, the intention is for the proposal to be politically agreed upon before being presented to parliamentarians. “We will hear from public security experts, perhaps academics, those who dedicate themselves to studying this subject. It will be a democratic, broad discussion, as is done in this government,” said the minister. He stated that the presidents of the Legislative and Judicial Branches will also be heard, in addition to the Attorney General of the Republic.
In recent weeks, the government has been internally discussing the idea of including the Unified Public Security System (Susp) in the Federal Constitution. Today’s meeting was attended by high-ranking government officials who have served as governors, as well as the Attorney General of the Union, Jorge Messias. The idea is that one of the next discussions will bring together all 27 governors.
Ricardo Lewandowski recalled that the 1988 constitutional text does not address complex and current issues such as transnational crimes, and stressed the need for this update to comply with international agreements signed by Brazil in areas ranging from money laundering and combating human trafficking to cryptocurrencies. “What we are aware of, and the president agrees with, is that the Union needs to act more actively, but today it does not have the instruments to do so, since the Union’s role in this regard is not found in the Constitution. Because the Constitution attributed the fight against crime and responsibility for public safety only to the member states of the Federation and, partially, to the municipalities when it comes to the Municipal Guard.”
The ministers Rui Costa (Civil House); Renan Filho (Transport); Camilo Santana (Education); Wellington Dias (Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger); and Waldez Góes (Integration and Regional Development) participated in the meeting.
