Things went badly for Aécio.

The First Panel of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) tonight removed Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG) from office. Considered the mastermind of the coup, the politician is now under house arrest during nighttime hours.

Agência Brasil – The First Panel of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) decided today (26), by 3 votes to 2, to remove Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG) from the exercise of his mandate, a precautionary measure requested by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) in the investigation in which the politician was accused of passive corruption and obstruction of justice, based on the plea bargains of the company J&F.

In the same session, the First Panel unanimously denied the third request for preventive detention of Aécio made by former Attorney General of the Republic Rodrigo Janot, who left office on the 17th. Two other requests for detention were denied by monocratic (individual) decisions in the STF: one by Minister Edson Fachin and another by Minister Marco Aurélio Mello.

Ministers Luís Roberto Barroso, Rosa Weber, and Luiz Fux voted for his removal from office, while Ministers Alexandre de Moraes and Marco Aurélio Mello dissented. By the same vote, it was determined that Aécio cannot leave his home at night, must surrender his passport, and cannot communicate with other individuals under investigation in the same case, including his sister Andréa Neves.

In his vote, Fux stated that the most commendable action Aécio could have taken from the beginning would have been to take a leave of absence from his mandate to prove his innocence. "Since he did not have this gesture of greatness, we will assist him in requesting a leave of absence from the Federal Senate so that he can prove to society his lack of guilt," he said.

"Much praise is being given to him for leaving the party presidency. He would be more praised if he had resigned from his mandate there. Since he did not have this gesture of greatness, we will assist him in requesting a leave of absence from the Federal Senate, so that he can prove to society his lack of guilt in the episode that dramatically marked his political career," said Fux.

Minister Roberto Barroso was the first to disagree with the rapporteur, Marco Aurélio, and Alexandre de Moraes, who opened the trial by dismissing any precautionary measures against the senator.

"The fact is that there is sufficient evidence, in my view, of authorship and materiality in this case," stated Barroso, who delivered a lengthy speech against the culture of corruption that, according to him, inflates all public contracts in the country.

For Barroso, it is irrelevant whether the bribe money goes towards illicit enrichment or the illegal financing of political campaigns. "The biggest problem is the environment of corruption and dishonesty that is created in the country to obtain the resources to pay these bribes. Therefore, if we want to change these practices, it is not possible to be lenient with them," he stated.

Votes lost

Right at the beginning of the trial, Justice Marco Aurélio, the case's rapporteur, denied a procedural motion raised by the defense to have the case judged in the full Supreme Court, and not in the First Chamber, a decision supported by the other justices of the First Chamber.

Next, Marco Aurélio, the first to vote as he was the rapporteur, repeated the same arguments with which he had reinstated, in July, on the last day of the Judiciary's mid-year recess, Aécio's right to exercise his mandate as senator, which had been suspended in May by Fachin, the previous rapporteur of the case.

Marco Aurélio repeated the criticisms he made of Aécio in his July decision, for which he said he had paid "an incredible price." The minister read the senator's political resume in plenary, data he considered to reject any precautionary measure against the senator. Minister Alexandre de Moraes agreed with the rapporteur.

Whistleblowing

In June, Senator Aécio Neves was indicted by Janot for passive corruption and obstruction of justice, accused of receiving R$ 2 million in bribes from businessman Joesley Batista, owner of the JBS company, with whom he was recorded, in an operation controlled by the Federal Police, in suspicious conversations. In a plea bargain, the executive admitted to the illegal transfer.

The money was allegedly requested by Aécio himself, with the aim of covering legal expenses. In exchange, he allegedly offered his political influence in the selection of a director for the mining company Vale. He denies the accusations, stating that the amount refers to a private loan.

Regarding the accusation of obstruction of justice, Janot accused Aécio of "making efforts" to interfere in the distribution of investigations within the Federal Police, so that they would fall to delegates favorable to those under investigation.

The congressman's sister, Andrea Neves, Aécio's cousin, Frederico Pacheco, and Mendherson Souza Lima, former advisor to Senator Zezé Perrela (PMDB-MG), were also indicted.

Defender

The senator denies the accusations. His main line of defense in the case is that the amount he received from Joesley was a personal loan, a transaction without any illegal nature.

Attorney Alberto Toron said he will file a motion for reconsideration, attaching new evidence to the case. "There is evidence to be produced to dispel this certainty that the senator committed a crime," said Aécio's representative.

"This is a decision that can be reviewed upon receipt of the indictment, and at any time when new evidence emerges. I am absolutely certain that the Supreme Federal Court, in light of new evidence, will know how to review this decision," added Aécio's representative.

Toron stated that Aécio is only removed from legislative activity, and can maintain contact with other political leaders. "He is not a political disgraced person, in the style of what happened during the 1964 dictatorship. He can talk about politics, he can converse with leaders," he said.