Government members line up speech to take off Jaques Wagner's image of Lula
Parliamentarians from the base have sought to align the discourse after the government leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), was targeted by the PF (Federal Police) investigating Banco Master. Allies of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) began trying to separate the senator's image from the President of the Republic.
The immediate effort is to reduce damage so that the investigations do not impact Lula's campaign, which is seeking re-election in the October elections this year. The tendency is to individualize the senator and other possible investigations to preserve Lula.
One of the first to speak out in this regard was deputy Rogério Correia (PT-MG), deputy leader of the government in the Chamber. According to him, Wagner should leave his leadership position. The deputy made a point of reinforcing Lula's commitment to the investigations carried out by the Federal Police.
"President Lula has always said: no matter who it hurts, the investigation needs to be carried out to the end! As an investigator, Jaques Wagner must step away from government leadership to dedicate himself to his defense, safeguarding the presumption of innocence. The Federal Police is doing its job, and whoever committed irregularities must answer for them", he posted on social media.
The government itself echoed this speech. The Minister of SRI (Secretariat of Institutional Relations) of the Presidency of the Republic, José Guimarães (PT-CE), also said that Planalto's position is that all suspects must be investigated. He highlighted that the current management has no connection with the scandals at Banco Master.
"It has nothing to do with our government. The previous government is largely responsible, and we want the investigations to take place with all the rigor. The Federal Police has the autonomy to investigate, investigate everything. We want the investigations to be carried out, no matter who it hurts", said the minister.
Amid the investigations, Lula is expected to meet with Jaques next week.
Opposition presses
Opposition parliamentarians and government allies went on the offensive and saw an opportunity to reverse the political-electoral situation after the pre-candidate for President of the PL, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (RJ), had leaked audios exposing a relationship with former banker Daniel Vorcaro.
During an event in São Paulo, the Bolsonarista said that the "PT of Bahia was imploded by the Federal Police."
The leader of the PL in the Chamber of Deputies, Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ), accused the PT (Workers' Party) of "muddying others with its own mud".
In addition, the opposition took advantage of the new phase of the PF operation to once again press for the establishment of a CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) to investigate the Master case.
Change in government leadership
The definition of a possible change in government leadership in the Senate is still uncertain. The negative repercussions on Planalto worry an important wing of the PT, which defends Jaques's departure from the post. There is, however, a public speech in defense of the senator.
The president of the PT, Edinho Silva, stated that the parliamentarian is a "repositor of trust", but said that the party supports "all investigations involving Banco Master".
"The crimes committed need to be investigated and those responsible punished. In this investigation and investigation process, we are confident that Jaques Wagner will clarify all the facts, proving his innocence", he wrote.
In the same vein, the PT's communications secretary, Éden Valadares, reinforced the party's "confidence" in Jaques Wagner and stated that "an attempt to equate relations and falsely create the idea that the scandal affects all Brazilian political fields equally is harmless."
The senator himself stated that he will not ask to leave his position and said that Lula didn't even talk about it with him during a phone call after the investigations.
"I don't think Lula will do that, but if he does, it's his right. The position of government leader belongs to the President of the Republic, but I spoke to him today and he didn't even touch on this topic", he stated.
The change of Jaques Wagner had already been discussed since Jorge Messias' rejection to the STF (Supreme Federal Court). The approval of the Union's attorney general was viewed by the government with favoritism in the Senate. After his name was rejected in the Upper House, Wagner was seen as one of the main responsible for the lack of articulation in Congress.
The PT leader in the Chamber, Pedro Uczai, said at the time that some leaders were going through a kind of "wear and tear". According to him, the government neglected a major agreement that was in progress, waited to see and ended up being defeated.
Even though he avoided talking about a "witch hunt", Uczai reinforced that it is necessary to make changes in the government's representation in Congress due to natural "attrition".
"Mapping betrayals doesn't solve anything, it deepens conflicts. It could be a tactic, but the way forward is to restore the government's base in the Senate, replace the role of the leaders, whether it places other leaders or not. You have to talk. Certainly some are already wearing out", he stated at the time.
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Source: CNN