President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Thursday (18) that he hopes the Federal Senate will analyze and vote on the nomination by the Union’s attorney general, Jorge Messiasfor the vacancy open for the position of minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), next year, after the return from the parliamentary recess. At the beginning of the month, the President of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre, canceled the calendar which predicted Messiah’s hearing in December, justifying the fact that the Presidential Message formalizing the nomination had not been sent.
“I’ll forward all the paperwork [Jorge] Messiah. I know it will no longer be voted on this year, we will have to wait for the National Congress to return. The Judiciary will go on vacation, Congress will go on vacation, the only one who won’t go on vacation is me. So, I will ensure that, when I return from recess, the name of the Messiah will be there and I hope there will be a vote”, said the president during a press conference at Palácio do Planalto.
Lula commented on Alcolumbre’s interest in nominating Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) for the position, which he considered legitimate, but considered that he had plans for the parliamentarian to run for government of Minas Gerais.
“The Senate wanted to nominate comrade Pacheco, who is a comrade who has a lot of merit, who is a person that I personally like, who is a person who I dreamed of becoming a candidate to win the elections in Minas Gerais and become governor of Minas Gerais”, he said.
Lula recalled that the now former minister Luís Roberto Barroso anticipated his retirement from the STF, which would have caused “confusion” in anticipation of the choice.
“It wasn’t foreseen, but something unforeseen happened. Barroso asked for the court’s accounts, he retired. Then, his partner Pacheco changed his position [sobre ser candidato a governador]and comrade Alcolumbre wanted to indicate, it was his right too, but it was his right that he proposed to me. Now, there was this confusion, [mas] I continue with the name of the Messiah”, he explained.
Lula once again defended the choice of Messias for the post, whom he classified as “a highly qualified person in his relationship with the Supreme Court” and who would be “a source of pride” for the country.
Regarding his relationship with the National Congress, Lula made a point of praising the dialogue with the leadership of the National Congress and denied that there were problems with the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
“There is nothing personal between me and comrade Alcolumbre. I am a friend of Alcolumbre, I like him personally, he has helped us in an extraordinary way to approve most of the things that we want to approve. It is with him that, many times, the [Fernando] Haddad [ministro da Fazenda] conversation, it is with him that Gleisi often [Hoffmann, ministra da Secretaria de Relações Institucionais] conversation. So, there is nothing, there is no crisis between me and Alcolumbre, between me and Hugo Motta [presidente da Câmara dos Deputados]”, he stated.
