Opposition studies reaction to Supreme Court and wants to understand Motta's disposition

The opposition is studying how to react to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) after the majority of the Court's First Chamber formed to partially overturn the decision of the plenary of the Chamber in the case of federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ). The group also wants to understand what the attitude of the president of the House, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), will be in the face of the situation.

Ramagem is exempt from answering for the crimes of qualified damage and deterioration of listed heritage until the end of his term. The Attorney General's Office argues that these acts occurred after he was sworn in as a member of parliament and, therefore, the actions should be suspended. On the other hand, the proceedings for violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d'état and criminal organization continue to proceed normally.

The understanding of the First Chamber of the Supreme Court so far clashes with the decision of the plenary of the Chamber last Wednesday (7). The majority of deputies had approved the suspension of all criminal proceedings against the former director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) in the investigation into the coup plot.

Opposition members are now considering how to proceed, but they believe that it will be unlikely to be a quick response or a single initiative. This is because they believe that the conflict between Congress and the Supreme Court has been escalating and has reached this level of tension over the last 10 years — it did not happen overnight. Furthermore, this is a legal action, the outcome of which does not depend on internal votes in the Chamber.

They also claim that it is necessary to understand the willingness of Motta, other leaders and party presidents to eventually publicly criticize the decision of the First Chamber. Behind the scenes, the opposition points out that Motta, as a candidate for the presidency of the Chamber, promised to defend what they see as the constitutional prerogatives of the House, as a campaign promise. There are those who demand a joint action, with the participation of the Senate.

Government deputies saw their colleagues' decision as an unconstitutional amnesty maneuver and a loophole to benefit former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and other defendants in the attempted coup. They also complained about the speed with which the matter was brought up in the Chamber, with Motta's permission.

The government's base believes that the move was dangerous. The calculation is that Motta played against the Planalto by scheduling the action to free Ramagem so quickly. The attitude of the Speaker of the Chamber was considered "regrettable" by the group, which recalled the pressure that Bolsonaro supporters are putting on for the approval of the amnesty bill.

Of the 315 deputies who approved the pro-Ramagem decision, 197 are from parties that support Lula — around 63% of the votes. Juscelino Filho (União Brasil-MA), Lula's Minister of Communications until last month, was one of those who voted in favor.

Along with the opposition, leaders of the centrist party see the STF as interfering in a prerogative that they consider to be exclusive to Parliament. Added to this is their dissatisfaction with decisions involving parliamentary amendments and other investigations, for example.

Also this Friday, the First Chamber of the STF formed a majority to sentence Congresswoman Carla Zambelli (PL-SP) to 10 years in prison for invading the systems of the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and inserting false documents.

Zambelli lost ground and became a kind of persona non grata in the opposition since the episode in which he pointed a gun at a man in the middle of the street on the eve of the second round of the 2022 presidential election. However, in the PL, the discourse is that, if possible, the order is to try to defend it.