The Public Prosecutor's Office can do a lot, but it can't do everything.

Does it make sense for someone to be investigated without judicial oversight? In civilized societies, obviously not. And what about when that someone is a candidate for public office? It's even more serious, because what's at stake is democratic representation itself.

However, a movement fueled by the Public Prosecutor's Office aims precisely to replace popular sovereignty with the pen of prosecutors. The controversy arose after Minister Dias Toffoli, at the Superior Electoral Court, decided to regulate the rules governing electoral investigations.

And it established that, for them to occur, there must always be authorization from a judge.
Outraged, the prosecutors signed a motion of condemnation, and the head of the Public Prosecutor's Office himself, Rodrigo Janot, threatened to go to the Supreme Federal Court to guarantee the alleged right to investigate candidates without the need for external authorization.

Who benefits from this? Primarily, it benefits candidates without votes and sectors of society that seek to influence the public agenda clandestinely – in some cases, acting directly to ensure their political opponents are defeated outside of elections.

In a country where politics is increasingly subject to judicialization, and with a judiciary that is rapidly becoming politicized, what would be the consequences of an election with all power handed over to the Public Prosecutor's Office? An avalanche of electoral investigations led by those with the greatest access to prosecutors. It is worth remembering that members of the Public Prosecutor's Office also have their preferences, and that former Attorney General Roberto Gurgel shelved investigations into former Senator Demóstenes Torres for two years.

In defense of democracy itself, there is nothing wrong with adding another filter to electoral investigations. If prosecutors have concrete evidence of crimes committed by candidates, they only need to request authorization from a judge. After all, the Public Prosecutor's Office can do a lot, but it can't do everything.