Senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE) PEC rapporteur, argued on Wednesday (24) that the proposal was not presented to defend the exercise of the parliamentary mandate, as their defenders say, but to protect parliamentarians from criminal proceedings.
“[A PEC] It is actually a fatal blow to its legitimacy [do Congresso]as it configures open doors for the transformation of the legislature into a safe shelter for criminals of all kinds. This is a PEC that definitely opens the doors of the National Congress for organized crime, ”said Senator Sergipano as he read his opinion on the Senate Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ).
Vieira asked for the complete rejection of the Proposal for amendment to Constitution 3 of 2021which requires prior authorization from the House or Senate, by means of a secret vote, to criminally prosecute deputies and senators.
No senator has favorably spoken to PEC, which should be voted on Wednesday in the board.
In the House, the PEC was approved with a large majoritywith 353 votes in the first round.
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For rapporteur Alessandro Vieira, the protection of parliamentary mandates is not compatible with the creation of obstacles to crimes investigation, “such as murder, passive corruption, drug trafficking and money laundering.”
The rapporteur highlighted the protests on Sunday (21) against PEC and stated that “the thesis is not sustained in facts that parliamentary activity is being surrounded in Brazil.
The thesis is Defended by the opposition and the mayor, Deputy Hugo Motta (Republicans-PB)who said there are deputies sued for “opinion crime.”
“Here, in this row, surely all have already rendered tough speeches regarding the decisions of ministers [do STF]the conduct of ministers, and none of those sitting here responds to the process for it. None! Neither here, nor in the other house, ”said Senator Alessandro Vieira.
The senator cited some “rare cases” of lawsuits by speeches given, such as governing deputy André Janones (Avante-MG), who is responsible for a criminal complaint presented by former President Jair Bolsonaro for calling him a “killer, militia, thief of jewelry and bandit stuff”, among other offenses.
Alessandro Vieira also cited the cases of opposition deputies Gilvan of the Federal (PL-ES) and Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO), who respond to criminal complaints filed by federal deputy Gleisi Hoffman (PT-RS), current minister of the Secretary of Institutional Relations (SRI).
These deputies said Gleisi “must be a damn prostitute” and “Lula offered Gleisi Hoffman as a pimp offers his employee in a gang negotiation.”
The shield rapporteur considered that in the case of Janones, Gilvan and Gayer “it seems absolutely impossible to tie such aggressions to the legitimate exercise of the parliamentary mandate.”
Vieira stressed that even in these cases the protection of opinions, words and parliamentarians is guaranteed.
“It is possible to suspect the process, as stated in paragraph 3 of Article 53 of the Federal Constitution, which reinforces the complete practical uselessness of the amendment presented,” he added.
The PEC rapporteur also considered that even the immunity of opinion, words and votes of parliamentarians, provided for in the Constitution, is not absolute, and cited the Supreme’s decision on the subject.
“No [há] Applicability of material immunity to defamant, injurious or slanderous pronouncements without bonding with parliamentary activity, “he said.
Vieira still defended the Amendment to Constitution 35approved in 2001, which ended the requirement of Prior authorization to process parliamentarians.
“In 13 years of validity of the constitutional text, until the advent of Constitutional Amendment No. 35 of 2001, only one, among almost 300 requests for investigation, was approved by the House of Representatives, against Deputy Jabes Rabelo, accused of receiving a stolen vehicle,” he said.
Vote separately
Senator Jorge Seif (PL-SC) removed the separate vote he had presented to keep the shield PEC with some changes. He changed position after reading the rapporteur’s vote.
Jorge Seif justified that PEC was a demand from Parliament for complaints of “pressures” from the Federal Supreme Court for speeches and votes, but criticized the possibility of secret vote and the extent of the privileged forum to presidents of parties with seating in Congress.
“I also need to recognize that the population, and I do not speak of the left, right phallus, left and center, have contacted us, and we need to be sensitive to the voices of the streets. If it has a good part of this PEC, which was proposed by the nobles of the Federal Chamber, unfortunately, was filled with components that poison the mass,” he said.
Senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), who supports the thesis of the opposition of “political persecution” powered by the Supreme, assessed that the House “made a mistake” in the reaction to proceedings against deputies and senators.
“There is no place, in the 21st century, in Brazil, we have a secret vote for admissibility of process against parliamentarians. This makes no sense,” he said.
