Motta opens session two hours late amid Bolsonaro's obstruction

The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), only managed to sit in his chair in the plenary at 10:21 pm this Wednesday 6, almost two hours after the scheduled start time of the session, amid the occupation of the Boards of Directors of the National Congress by pro-Bolsonaro parliamentarians.

"We won't solve this problem through aggression," Motta said as he attempted to make room on the Board of Directors. "We have a very firm commitment to strengthening the Brazilian Parliament."

According to him, "physical obstruction is not good for the House." The opposition, he asserted, has the right to demonstrate and express its will, but must comply with the Internal Rules and the Constitution. "We will not allow acts like those of yesterday and today to override the plenary session and the will of this House."

Motta also defended the need for a “pro-country” agenda and the search for consensus.

"We cannot allow personal projects, and even electoral projects, to take precedence over what is greater than all of us: our people," he added. "We will continue to invest in dialogue. Only dialogue will shed light on the great achievements that Brazil needs. Our democracy cannot be negotiated."

With Jair Bolsonaro 's (PL) allies insisting on obstructing the agenda, Motta and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP) decided to change their strategy to ensure the resumption of proceedings. Bolsonaro supporters are protesting the former captain's arrest and are trying to force a vote on the Amnesty Bill and the opening of impeachment proceedings against Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

In the Senate, Alcolumbre called a remote deliberative session for this Thursday. The measure, he said in a statement, seeks to avoid a standstill in the agenda and preserve the functioning of the Upper House.

"Parliament will not be held hostage by actions aimed at destabilizing its functioning. Democracy is built on dialogue, but also on responsibility and firmness," the parliamentarian wrote. The decision was made at a meeting with party leaders.

Motta had scheduled an in-person session in the Chamber for 8:30 p.m. this Wednesday. The congressman also gathered party leaders to try to lower the temperature in the chamber, but the Bolsonaro supporters refused to budge and remained in obstruction.

At the meeting, it was also decided that anyone who continued to obstruct the proceedings could be punished with a precautionary suspension of their mandate.