Pastor Silas Malafaia, from the Assembly of God Vitória em Cristo, released this Monday, 11, a video in which he charges the ministers of the Civil House, Ciro Nogueira, of the Secretariat of Government, Flávia Arruda, and of Communications, Fábio Faria, a defense for the approval of André Mendonça as minister of the Supreme Federal Court (STF).
“If Mr. Ciro Nogueira is in favor of André Mendonça’s nomination, call the press. It’s not for me, no. You are obliged to go public and give a satisfaction”, declared the pastor, who is a close ally of President Jair Bolsonaro. Evangelicals are the main pillar supporting Mendonça’s nomination to the STF and have made more efforts than the government to make the choice come true.
Malafaia’s statements come a day after a report in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper pointing out that politicians from the Centrão – a group which Ciro, Flávia and Fábio are part of – are working together so that Mendonça’s nomination to the Supreme Court is withdrawn and replaced by the president’s from the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), Alexandre Cordeiro, who is sponsored by the minister of the Civil House.
“Palace ministers are politicians. He (Fábio Faria), minister Ciro Nogueira, who is from the Civil House, and minister Flávia Arruda, who is from the Government Secretariat, are politicians. They are obliged to issue a note and work for the nomination of the president”, said Malafaia.
Bolsonaro made the nomination for the STF almost three months ago, on July 13th. Even if the 15 days of parliamentary recess are disregarded, the delay for the hearing to take place is longer than the time that the current ten ministers of the Supreme had to wait.
In an unusual move that exposes the crisis in the government’s political articulation, the president of the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ), senator Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP), refuses to put Mendonça’s nomination on the agenda. Without the hearing and voting in the CCJ, the process does not progress.
Alcolumbre, who is unhappy with the government for having lost control of the release of amendments and having been passed over to choose a ministry, has told interlocutors that there are no votes to approve the former minister’s name and suggests to Planalto Palace that exchange the nomination for the Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras.
Last week, there was not even a CCJ session in the Senate, despite Alcolumbre having stayed in Brasília and participated in the convention that sealed the union between DEM and PSL to form the new União Brasil party. During the event, the senator declared that the minister’s hearing is still unpredictable.
Also last week, in an official statement to the Supreme Court, in an action in which he is asked to justify the delay in the hearing, the senator from Amapá said that he has not yet guided the indication of Mendonça because there is no “consensus” around his choice.
Last Friday, 8, Malafaia had also criticized Ciro Nogueira because of the delay in the meeting in Mendonça. The pastor also included in his criticisms the leader of the government in the Senate, Fernando Bezerra Coelho (MDB-PE), who is responsible for representing the interests of the Planalto Palace in the Legislative House.
“I would also like to send a message to minister Ciro Nogueira and the government leader, Fernando Bezerra, that no one is going to deceive the evangelical community. And that it’s no use playing behind the scenes to make someone interested because it won’t work”, said the religious leader.
This Monday, 10, President Jair Bolsonaro criticized Alcolumbre for not ruling André Mendonça’s hearing in the CCJ of the Senate. At a press conference on the coast of São Paulo, where he spends his extended holiday, Bolsonaro insinuated that the senator would be holding back the assessment for having an interest in bringing another name to the Court. “The nomination is mine. If he wants to nominate someone for the Supreme (…), he’ll run for president next year,” said Bolsonaro, who until now had avoided openly criticizing Alcolumbre.
Bolsonaro, in turn, attributed the delay to an alleged political game by the senator. According to the president, the congressman would be anticipating the plenary of the House and preventing the hearing for not wanting to proceed with the nomination. “He can vote against it, but what he is doing is not being done,” he complained.
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