Councilors say they are mistaken and withdraw support from CPI that targets Father Lancelotti

The request to open a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) that intended to investigate Father Júlio Lancelotti at the São Paulo City Council suffered a setback this Thursday, 4th, with the publication of the names of the councilors who signed the document. At least four have already announced their intention to withdraw support for the request by councilor Rubinho Nunes (União Brasil), which casts doubt on the viability of the proposal. The CPI needs to be guided by leaders and approved by the majority in plenary to get off the ground. The author of the request did not respond to the report to comment on the case.

Parliamentarians say they are deceived and surprised by the CPI's direction, which targets non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive public funding to operate in Cracolândia. “I signed a CPI that at no point talked about investigating the serious work of Father Júlio Lancelotti. I was surprised yesterday by this flood of news. Distorted the object. I withdraw my signature and signal that if the proposal goes to the plenary I will vote against it”, said councilor Sidney Cruz (Solidarity).

Councilor Xexéu Tripoli (PSDB) said the opening of an investigation against the priest was “absolutely revolting”. “I do not advocate political persecution of religious leaders. Even more so in these times of hate and resentment on social media. The investigation of suspected cases of misuse of public resources cannot serve as a pretext for political persecution”, he claimed in a note.

Another person to praise the priest after signaling support for the CPI was councilor Thammy Miranda (PL). “The commission I signed aims to protect residents of the center who face challenges related to public health and safety in the Cracolândia region. At no point was the name of Father Júlio Lancellotti mentioned, directly or indirectly, in this support for the CPI. If the intention of this project is to attack it, it does not have my support.”

In addition to them, councilor Sandra Tadeu (União Brasil), who is from the same party as Rubinho Nunes, is also on the team of regrets. She said she was not in favor of a “personalized” CPI named after Father Júlio Lancelotti. “I am in favor of a broad CPI that listens to NGOs and municipal, state and federal public authorities, so that we can understand where we are failing”, she declared.

Politicians contacted the legal team to make the signatures null and void, but the situation could raise questions as the request has already been filed. In any case, the stampede signals a loss of support for a possible vote in plenary, a necessary condition for the approval of the CPI in the São Paulo City Council.

Application does not mention the name of the priest

The request by councilor Rubinho Nunes (União Brasil), in fact, does not directly mention the name of Father Júlio Lancelotti, nor of the NGOs that would be the subject of investigation. In interviews, however, the politician accused organizations such as Craco Resiste and the Centro Social Nossa Senhora do Bom Parto, known as Bompar, of implementing a harm reduction policy with public money that “exploits drug addicts in the center of the capital” . He also declared that the priest would be one of the main targets.

The priest said he has no relationship today with the entities, but with the São Miguel Arcanjo Parish, and received support from the Archdiocese of São Paulo. Left-wing parties, such as PT and PSOL, point out that he suffers political persecution. The two entities mentioned work with the homeless population and drug addicts in the center of São Paulo, as does the priest, who was once a Bompar advisor. On social media, Craco Resiste called the action a “dishonest attack” against its work. Bompar has not commented so far.

Opening of the CPI depends on leaders and approval in plenary

The request to open the CPI is not enough to guarantee its installation in the São Paulo City Council. Even obtaining the necessary signatures to file the request, the NGOs' CPI proposal needs to be included on the agenda and go through two separate votes before being approved. The opposition promises to act against it and tries to convince the President of the House not to consider the request.

According to the Chamber's communications department, the request to open the CPI requires 19 signatures, equivalent to a third of parliamentarians, totaling 55 in the capital. This stage was already completed on December 6th, as shown in the Chamber's electronic records. The document received 22 signatures; Estadão identified 19 parliamentarians, from nine different parties, including government leader Ricardo Nunes, Fábio Riva (PSDB). When contacted, he did not clarify whether the support represents an individual option or a government position.

The installation of the CPI of NGOs will depend on two votes in plenary – the first to authorize the opening of a new CPI in the legislature and the second to effectively decide on the creation of the CPI of NGOs. In both votes, an absolute majority is required, i.e. , 28 votes, for approval. The fact that the procedure passes through the plenary suggests that the action still depends on coordination within the College of Leaders, responsible for defining the agenda for the sessions. Another 44 CPIs proposed in this legislature are awaiting their turn.

Before the stampede of signatures, councilor Rubinho Nunes anticipated a supposed agreement between the leaders to give priority to their request and said that the request had around 30 supports to install the CPI of NGOs upon return from recess, in February. This agreement is not confirmed. The president of the Chamber, Milton Leite (União Brasil), limited himself to saying in a note that the topic will still be addressed by the leaders. Opposition members, on the other hand, deny any discussion or prior agreement in this regard and promise to obstruct the request.

“If they actually go forward with this, we will obstruct it in every way. We don't think it's fair. They are trying to carry out a CPI on the NGOs with the sole aim of harming Father Júlio Lancelotti, who has provided a high quality service for over 30, 40 years and who has impeccable conduct. They want to tarnish the priest’s image once again,” said PT leader Senival Moura.

The requirement for a plenary vote occurs when more than two CPIs are in progress at the same time. The internal regulations of the São Paulo City Council allow up to five investigations to operate simultaneously, as long as there is consensus among the majority of parliamentarians after the third. Currently, three are underway in the capital of São Paulo: Enel's CPI, which investigates the electricity blackout, the CPI on Wire and Cable Theft, which tries to map the theft and illegal trade in copper, and the CPI on Violence and of Sexual Harassment against Women.