AP 470: Alves says he will uphold the Constitution.
The Speaker of the House stated that he will "comply with the constitutional text" regarding the loss of mandate for those convicted by the Supreme Court in the so-called mensalão scandal; "We will await the Supreme Court's decision and not anticipate the facts. The certainty is that the House will comply, in its interpretation, with the Constitutional text," he said.
Ana Raquel Macedo, Chamber of Deputies Agency - The Speaker of the House, Henrique Eduardo Alves, stated this Tuesday, the 12th, that he will "comply with the constitutional text" regarding the loss of mandate for those convicted by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in the mensalão case.
There is no consensus on whether the Supreme Court can immediately revoke the mandates of convicted deputies, or whether the loss of mandate depends exclusively on a decision by the Chamber's plenary, even if they are imprisoned. "We will await the Supreme Court's decision and not anticipate the facts. What is certain is that the House will comply, in its interpretation, with the Constitutional text," stated Alves.
Tomorrow, the Supreme Court resumes the trial of appeals in the Mensalão scandal. In the case of 13 convicts – among them congressmen Valdemar Costa Neto (PR-SP) and Pedro Henry (PP-MT) – only the analysis of the so-called motions for clarification remains, which request clarity in the ministers' decisions. If the Supreme Court understands that these motions were presented in an attempt to delay the conclusion of the case, the court may order the immediate imprisonment of the convicts.
Twelve other defendants, having received a narrow sentence from the Supreme Federal Court (STF), are entitled to so-called "infringement appeals," a recourse that could change the outcome of the trial. Among these defendants are congressmen José Genoino and João Paulo Cunha, both from the Workers' Party (PT) of São Paulo.