CATIA SEABRA, JULIA CHAIB AND THIAGO RESENDE
BRASILIA, DF (FOLHAPRESS)
President Lula (PT) asked assistants to recommend names of women for a possible succession of the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino (PSB), or the chief minister of the AGU (Attorney General of the Union), Jorge Messias –both listed for a vacancy on the Federal Supreme Court.
Lula’s intention, they say, is to mitigate the expected negative repercussions of the appointment of another man to the STF, now to Minister Rosa Weber’s chair.
Rosa is president of the court, and her replacement by a man would reduce representation in the court to just one woman, Minister Cármen Lúcia.
The PT member also seeks to compensate for Ana Moser’s departure from the Ministry of Sports, announced this month. Currently, women head 9 of Esplanada’s 38 ministries. At the beginning of the government, there were 11 of 37 portfolios.
Another woman who is threatened in her position is the president of Caixa, Rita Serrano. The position is being sought by the center, commanded by the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).
Lula’s guidance is seen by assistants as yet another demonstration of Dino’s favoritism in the race for nomination to the Supreme Court.
Allies considered that the position of Minister of Justice has a strong political character and deals directly with the Federal Police. Therefore, they say that today it is easier to find female candidates for the post of AGU minister.
The assessment is that the position of Minister of Justice needs to be occupied by someone with strong political support. In this sense, among the names mentioned as compatible with the position are those of former senators Simone Tebet (MDB) –now head of Planning– and Kátia Abreu (PP).
The president’s allies are working on the possibility of Messias being sent to court if it is not possible to find a woman to replace Dino in the portfolio, in the event of the minister’s appointment to the Supreme Court.
This would open space for an appointment at the head of the AGU. Two names mentioned are the attorney general of the National Treasury, Anelize Almeida, and the special advisor for diversity and inclusion at the AGU, Cláudia Trindade.
Another name remembered for the vacancy is that of AGU’s general secretary of Consulting, Clarice Costa Calixto.
A hypothesis also considered is the dismemberment of the Ministry of Justice and the creation of the Public Security portfolio. This design was even discussed during the government transition last year. In this scenario, the PF — a sensitive structure currently under the umbrella of Justice — would be in charge of Public Security.
Among the men, the names of Ricardo Cappelli, executive secretary of the ministry, Augusto de Arruda Botelho, national secretary of Justice, and Marco Aurélio de Cavalho, coordinator of Prerrogativas, a group of lawyers, appear as possibilities to take over from Dino. Lula’s allies.
In addition to Dino and Messias, the president of the TCU (Tribunal de Contas da União), Bruno Dantas, is also considered for the Supreme Court, although with fewer chances.
Lula will have to choose one of the names to occupy the Supreme Court seat that will be vacated by Rosa, who will retire by October 2nd.
Dino’s choice has been defended by the STF minister and Lula’s allies due to his history in the area — he was a federal judge for 12 years — and also because he is a name the president trusts.
The former governor of Maranhão was Lula’s personal choice to occupy the Ministry of Justice, one of the main posts on the Esplanada.
According to the president’s collaborators, Dino’s name began to be considered for the vacancy only after he admitted to Lula his willingness to take up the seat on the STF. According to these reports, months earlier Dino even denied the president his intention to occupy a vacancy on the court.
As Dino strengthens, considerations against his recommendation also grow. One of them is that the option can be seen as a contradiction to Lula’s campaign promise against the politicization of the Judiciary.
Other allies of the PT member remember that it is difficult to ignore the Supreme Court nomination of a Minister of Justice, especially with such popularity on social media.
On another front, Lula’s allies believe that the decision he takes for the STF will influence the choice of Augusto Aras’s replacement in the PGR (Attorney General’s Office). Aras needs to leave his position by next Tuesday (26).
This is because, if he opts for Dino, as he has signaled, the nomination will strengthen a wing of the Supreme Court formed by Gilmar Mendes and Alexandre de Moraes. Both support choice.
The same pair of magistrates have been working to get Lula to nominate the current deputy electoral attorney, Paulo Gonet, to the PGR. For this reason, palace aides doubt that Lula will opt for Gonet and Dino at the same time, precisely to avoid excessive empowerment of Gilmar and Moraes.
Lula had a conversation last week with both Gonet and Antonio Bigonha, a PGR candidate supported by sectors of the PT. After the meetings, he reported to assistants that he was not captivated by either of them. Given this, allies began to suggest other names.
One of them is prosecutor Aurélio Virgílio Veiga Rios, whose nomination has the support of members of left-wing movements.
Lula is also expected to meet with deputy attorney Carlos Frederico Santos, who is an ally of Aras. He began to be cited for his role in holding those involved in the anti-democratic attacks on January 8th accountable.
According to allies, the president raised the possibility of hearing other candidates for the position. There are those who argue that Lula only makes a decision after the hip surgery that he is scheduled to undergo on the 29th.
The post Lula seeks to appoint a woman to the Court or AGU to reduce criticism for a man going to the STF appeared first in Jornal de Brasília.
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