Operation Lava Jato gave birth to Bolsonaro and should have the obligation to nurture him, says federal prosecutor.

By Celso Três, federal prosecutor – Ridiculed on Twitter and Facebook, like an irresponsible brat, dismissing the coronavirus tragedy as a "little flu," claiming that Brazilians can dive unscathed into sewage, servilely bowing to the United States that pirates medical supplies that China intended for Brazil, turning the liturgy of the Presidency into jokes against sexual dignity, inciting the ignorant masses to lynch journalists, as attested by periodicals around the world, the president of our Brazil has sadly become an icon of global ridicule. Worse! Bolsonaro is anything but surprising. He has always been this way.

So, who gave birth to Bolsonaro? The ballot box was the cradle of votes born from certain wombs. Just and legitimate anti-PT sentiment, allied with the historical – four centuries of slavery – extreme right, was the decisive womb.

Here, I am only dealing with how much Themis, the apparatus of justice, gave birth to votes in favor of the captain, in short, decimating the political establishment, giving wings to populist outsiders, who capitalized on the indiscriminate accusatory zeal wielded by the Damocles' sword of Lava Jato.

The emblematic victim was the PSDB, the party with the best technical personnel, whose candidate, Alckmin, whose integrity was most thoroughly proven in leading the main state of the federation, succumbed defenseless to the avalanche of justice. History is always inexorable.

From the outset, Lava Jato was the largest and most unique investigation in history.

There, the prosecutors immortalized their names in bronze on the memorial of justice. The number and status of the public agents and private capitalists involved, the amounts embezzled and recovered, the arrests, convictions, asset confiscation, and other measures formed a picture of truly global impact.

The flaw arose during the investigation, violating the limits of criminal prosecution.

King Pyrrhus of Epirus, after a war against the Romans in which he suffered heavy losses (280 BC), replied to those who praised him for his success: "One more victory like this and we will be completely ruined." This is the Pyrrhic victory.

During these pandemic times, it's important to remember that the difference between medicine and poison can lie in the dosage. Chloroquine is medicine. Let's pray for its effectiveness! But whether or not to administer it, depending on the case, will depend on the doctor's expertise.

Collateral effects

If the body of the state is sick with corruption – and it was (!), the remedy, the action of justice, cannot have even worse side effects, such as economic collapse and an attack on democracy.

"Virtue itself needs limits," Montesquieu replied to those who objected to the separation of powers with the king's goodness. Although kind and well-intentioned, all those who do not respect the limits of their authority are disastrous.

At the beginning of 2017, with the country stunned by the video presentation of the 78 Odebrecht whistleblowers, Frederico Vasconcelos honored me with... interview (Folha, March 17, 2017), when he said that the disclosure “melts down the political world, the State, and dilapidates the economy, investments, and jobs”.

"The law regarding plea bargaining imposes secrecy until the formal charges are filed. It preserves the investigation and the honor of the person denounced, who was previously defenseless." Unfortunately, the sequence of events proved me right.

As Minister Lewandowski rightly says, our history attests that the messianic crusade against corruption was never the cause, but rather a pretext for violating democracy, as exemplified by the suicide of Getúlio Vargas and the 1964 military coup. What is new in this period of Brazilian public life is that the judiciary, previously passive, is now a protagonist in the attack on democracy.

Lava Jato had – and ignored! – a valuable standard to avoid deviating from: the prosecution of the Mensalão scandal. In that case, the Attorney General of the Republic, Antonio Fernando, was surgical, dignified, timely, rigorous, and competent. The action, guided by the principle of harm reduction, did not harm due process, the economy, nor democracy.

Independence and impartiality are the greatest attributes of a judge. Even a magistrate given to the worst vices of honesty will stray to renounce this status. An honest but biased judge is equal to the corrupt one in harming justice. "If there is no referee in the game, there is no illegal play" (song by Engenheiros do Hawai, "Exército de um homem só").

In turn, impartiality does not concern subjectivity, the judge's intention to harm one of the parties. Objectivity is required, an aesthetic of impartial conduct. It is from this ostentatiousness that society's confidence in judicial impartiality emanates. This precept of conduct for the judiciary is consolidated in the various legal systems of the civilized world.

This also applies to the Public Prosecutor's Office. It is an impartial party. A party because it has the power to prosecute. Impartial because the accusation is restricted to the republican values ​​of due process of law, among them, that of impersonality, that is, it does not have a pre-ordained target, it does not investigate people, it ascertains the materiality of facts that are criminal in order to then identify their perpetrators.

Public outcry

In this, Lava Jato erred. It faltered, gravely, in its aesthetic of impartiality. Even if it didn't intend to, nor was there any advantage to it, possibly succumbing to the "tsunami" of the overthrow of Dilma's government.

It is the temptation of "vox populi, vox jus" – justice deciding according to public opinion, as confessed by the then president of the Supreme Court:Supreme Court will not ignore the clamor for justice from the streets, says Cármen Lúcia."(Uol, June 30, 2017). The commander of the Armed Forces, General Eduardo Villas Bôas, admitted intervention if the Supreme Court granted habeas corpus to Lula (Sheet, November 11, 2018).

The essence of the attack on democracy perpetrated by Lava Jato lay in its indiscriminate attack, making a clean sweep of the political world, knowing that this world, unlike the Public Prosecutor's Office, is anointed by the vote, a mandate from those who are sovereign in power: the people.

In the ashes of politics, democracy will never find its cradle. That's where Berlusconi in Italy and Bolsonaro in Brazil are born. The debasement of politics is the common tactic of all despots throughout history.

"I need to," Reinaldo Azevedo stated:As militant prosecutors and judges, the lieutenants disliked politicians. (Sheet(May 26, 2017). In this vein, an editorial in Estadão states that “the attempt to transform Lava Jato into the great national panacea is pernicious. Besides not pulling the country out of the crisis, this way of conducting it makes it impossible to get out of the crisis” (May 10, 2017). Eloquent is the project for a monument (sculpture) to Lava Jato, in the words of its creator and also honoree Deltan Dallagnol: “…my first idea is this: something like two pillars knocked down and one standing, which should support a base of the country that is tilted, knocked down. The standing pillar symbolizing the institutions of justice. The two knocked down symbolizing the political system…”Sheet(The Intercept Brazil, August 21, 2019)

Measures against corruption

By usurping the popular initiative to legislate, an institution of civil society – never a state body! – Lava Jato collected signatures in support of its project of “10 measures against corruption”.

Disgruntled by the partial rejection, Juliano Baiocchi, deputy attorney general, writes an article labeling the parliament a criminal organization (“Operation Trojan Horse of the Organized Crime” – Fausto Macedo's blog, December 1, 2016). Consistent with the language used by Lava Jato in the media and in court, “PT gang, MDB gang, PSDB gang, PP gang…”

The high point was the ceremony, bringing together all the Lava Jato units in the country, when the Rio de Janeiro Charter was issued, all under Deltan's rallying cry: "2018 is the final battle for Lava Jato," advocating that none of the parliamentarians be re-elected (Sheet(November 27, 2017). In this, the Lava Jato campaign was successful, an extraordinary result in the non-reelection of parliament and executives.

All of this within the context of the absolutist self-empowerment of Lava Jato, whose oversight bodies—Attorney General Rodrigo Janot, the inspectors of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, and the National Council of the Public Prosecutor's Office—have all become its admirers.

Carlos Fernando Lima posted a photo on the internet wearing a t-shirt with images of himself, Deltan, and Moro, titled "Justice League" (Uol, April 19, 2016).

Everything in sync with the leadership, upon leaving the Attorney General's office in Brasília, posing with the sign: "Janot, you are the hope of Brazil!" (night of March 2, 2015).

Near the airport, we had a double billboard displaying an image of the prosecutors, "Welcome to the Republic of Curitiba... Here the law is obeyed," resulting in a class action lawsuit against the individuals involved.Sheet(February 13, 2020)

Confusing public shaming with publicity, 'ab initio', under the demagogic justification of society controlling justice, Lava Jato subjected everyone to moral lynching, a wall of shame, not only those under investigation, but also witnesses, lawyers, companies and people with no connection to wrongdoing, journalists, judges, in short, anyone who opposed the designs of the operation.

“… without exposure, it is impossible to move forward against powerful people, says Dallagnol”Sheet, 24 Nov. 2017). In light of habeas corpus granted by Minister Dias Toffoli, Carlos Fernando and Diogo Castor, titled “Gold Medal for Habeas Corpus… a backflip”, is an example (Sheet, July 2, 2016).

They promoted a clandestine investigation against Minister Gilmar Mendes (The Intercept Brasil). MBL/Vem pra rua, known enthusiasts of the operation, in the most symbolic public square of Porto Alegre (RS), to the sound of Lula's voice leaked by Lava Jato, a sinister scene, the darkness typical of fascists, burned 11 effigies, each representing one of the ministers of the STF (see YouTube).

The journalist Reinaldo Azevedo, SheetA critic of the irregularities had a personal conversation with Aécio Neves' sister leaked with the clear intention of retaliation. Information was leaked to intimidate those under investigation (The Intercept Brasil, August 29, 2019).

Paradoxically, when the revelations from The Intercept Brazil emerged, there were allegations of privacy violations and illegality in the intrusion. Privacy belongs to the citizen against the state, never to the state – an authority exercising its duties.

Within their area of ​​authority, authorities may maintain secrecy, always temporary, as a condition of effectiveness, as in the case of arrests and wiretapping. Due process requires that public agents be free of secrecy. Lava Jato, which preached oversight of justice to expose its targets, has hidden itself from the light of day.

Reports circulated

The main weapon used to undermine the political world was the illegal and irresponsible dissemination of plea bargain testimonies. There has always been an imposition of secrecy until the indictment is accepted (Article 7, §3, of Law No. 12.850/13). Not even the judge can waive this confidentiality.

The law is based on two reasons: a) secrecy allows for the production of evidence that corroborates the accusation; we have had cases of those denounced, more than a year after the disclosure, with search warrants issued against their homes; b) secrecy protects the honor and right of defense of the accused, who is defenseless in a disclosure without a formal accusation.

The most egregious example was Odebrecht, which shook the country at the dawn of 2017, with Lava Jato revealing 415 implicated authorities, not counting private individuals, companies, money launderers, front men, and others.

The result in terms of complaints and lawsuits was minimal. "Odebrecht's plea bargain yields few results in a year.""(Sheet, January 29, 2018). Further on, the inexorable prediction was confirmed: “Two years ago, the prosecutor predicted the failure of Odebrecht's plea bargains."(Public Interest Blog, January 30, 2019)."

Emblematic of the abuse was the widespread accusation of obstructing the investigation (article 2 of Law 12.850/13).

The purpose of the law is not to thwart the authorities' interest in incriminating their targets. 'Obstruction' requires conduct that is inherently illegal and does not concern the prosecution's interest, but rather the due process of law and proper justice.

The revelations from The Intercept Brasil, regarding Judge Sergio Moro's actions in leading the investigation, constitute obstruction of justice.

A peculiar example was the repeated accusation of urging those under investigation not to cooperate with the investigation.

On August 28, 2016, the Sheet This reveals the "snitching stipend," meaning that the corrupt companies Odebrecht, OAS, and Andrade Gutierrez guarantee up to 15 years of salary for their subordinates to denounce politicians, safeguarding their bosses. Odebrecht alone had 78 whistleblowers.

In stark contrast to the treatment given to politicians by Lava Jato, bankers were treated the opposite way. Analyzed messages show that the Curitiba task force preferred to seek agreements rather than investigate accusations against financial institutions. While devising the strategy, Dallagnol gave a lecture at Febraban (The Intercept Brasil, 22/8/2019).

Lula's removal from office

In Bolsonaro's election, the decisive factor was undoubtedly the removal of Lula – without ignoring his inherent responsibility in the brutal corruption that was uncovered! – whose aesthetic of impartiality in the Lava Jato operation was brutally compromised.

Lula was the target of abusive coercive measures, under the blatant pretext of needing protection, provoking anticipated national stress, where a conversation with Dilma was recorded through clandestine interception, without a valid court order, the disclosure of which was the trigger for the impeachment. The dialogue was even edited, with sections that would alter its interpretation being suppressed.Sheet(September 8, 2019). Retired Attorney General Janot, "Nothing less than everything," asserts that Dilma is an honest woman.

Everyone remembers Deltan Dallagnol's theatrical PowerPoint presentation denouncing the Guarujá triplex case.

The indictment included, among other technical aberrations, a treatise on coalition presidentialism, concluding with a request for priority processing based on the elderly statute—in short, according to the prosecutors' interpretation, an exotic right for Lula to be convicted more quickly.

On July 14, 2017, Judge Gebran Neto, already designated as the rapporteur who would conduct Lula's trial at the TRF-4 – the cause of his imprisonment and ineligibility – was honored in Curitiba by Fecomércio (PR), when he declared that Lava Jato was promoting a "paradigmatic shift".

Later, Judge Thompson Flores Lenz – then president of the TRF-4 (Regional Federal Court of the 4th Region), later transferred to the Lava Jato task force, although in his long career at the court he did not opt ​​for the criminal area, recently convicted Lula in the Atibaia farm case – during the ceremony awarding honors by the Commercial Association of Paraná to Minister Edson Fachin, rapporteur of Lava Jato at the STF (Supreme Federal Court), stated: "Lula will be judged before the election.""(Uol, Nov. 10, 2017)."

In general, from members of the Federal Police to the mother of Judge Sergio Moro, everyone was honored by employers' associations in Paraná, for obvious reasons, averse to the Dilma and Lula governments.

Imagine that President Bolsonaro, just like Lula, once out of power, becomes the target of criminal proceedings.

So, labor organizations, like CUT/MST, should pay pompous homage and praise to their judges?! Everyone – and rightly so! – would find it scandalous.

As soon as the election was over: "Moro helped me politically," says Bolsonaro (Exame magazine, Nov. 2, 2018). And he continues to help, now that Sergio Moro has become the Prime Minister of the Republic.

Prosecutor Carlos Fernando Lima, a prominent figure in the Lava Jato operation, who was then retired and practicing law, admitted in an interview with Globo News that its members voted for Bolsonaro.

Clean Hands

"Veritas filia temporis," truth is the daughter of time. Italy's "Clean Hands," an acknowledged inspiration for Lava Jato, gave rise to Berlusconi, a figure symmetrical to Bolsonaro.Judges from the Clean Hands operation have become political actors, says Italian historian.(Interview with Professor Giovanni Orsina) Sheet(August 29, 2017). In the economic sphere, Lava Jato did not act in Brazil in the same way as its American counterparts: "The idea of ​​the Americans is to punish harshly, but to avoid the compensation to be paid putting at risk the businesses and jobs they generate."Sheet, December 20, 2016).

None of the agreements provided for job preservation. Atrocious social insensitivity! The debacle is estimated at half a million jobs.

Before the Lava Jato corruption scandal, Odebrecht employed 276 workers, including employees and contractors. In 2019, while undergoing bankruptcy protection, 80% of those jobs were eliminated.

In an August 2019 article in the journal of the Council of Economists of Rio de Janeiro, renowned professors estimate that the Lava Jato operation contributed approximately 2 to 2,5% to the GDP decline in 2015 and 2016 respectively, due to its impact on the metalworking, shipbuilding, civil construction, and heavy engineering sectors.

While Lava Jato provided ammunition to the Americans to fine Petrobras – a victim of corruption! – the largest amount ever paid by a foreign company in that nation, it also pocketed billions for the ridiculous foundation dedicated to anti-corruption advertising, which, thankfully, was allocated by the Supreme Court, through Minister Alexandre Moraes, to combat the coronavirus.

The Lava Jato investigation revealed a high incidence of corruption. The arrest of prosecutor Ângelo Villela, Marcelo Miller grappling with the ambiguity of his role as a lawyer for the powerful JBS/J&F firm, an ongoing investigation into allegations of bribery by money launderer Dario Messer, MPF inspectors caught engaging in misconduct by those responsible for addressing prosecutors' deviations (The Intercept Brasil), Federal Revenue Service auditors working on the operation in Rio de Janeiro arrested for extorting those under investigation, and, to top it all off, the head of everything, Rodrigo Janot, is subject to an unprecedented Maria da Penha Law (domestic violence law) that prevents him from even approaching the Supreme Court.

Interestingly, when he proposed the 10 measures against corruption to the National Congress, one of them was the integrity test, a kind of purgatory for human weakness, through which public agents would be tempted to deviate.

Prosecutors are Brazilian. In 2017, a national values ​​survey by Datafolha showed that Brazilians see the country as corrupt, but they, individually, as honest. Brazilians talk about Brazilians in the third person, and dissociate themselves from their own identities.

The Lava Jato operation, through Deltan Dallagnol's voice to his colleagues in the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, supported the nomination of Augusto Aras. Generally, those who now have reservations about the new head were part of, or always applauded, the operation. The new Attorney General has separated internal factions that have consolidated in recent years, safeguarding the material and financial conditions of the institution.

With the backing of all political segments in his Senate approval, he did not use his powers against adversaries of those who appointed him. He deduced the accusations whose evidence is solid, marking his actions with discretion. In short, looking back at his counterpart Rodrigo Janot, he is fully aware of what he should not do, that is, be a protagonist in the national political scene, since acting in this way was disastrous for Lava Jato.

The proverb says, "Whoever gave birth to Matthew should raise him." History doesn't say whether Matthew did or not. Here, what is certain is that, yes, Lava Jato helped give birth to Bolsonaro.

Certainly, this is a source of pride for its members and applause from a large segment of Brazilian society, so much so that the captain was elected president of the Republic.

However, now, Lava Jato, besides not gaining momentum, is secluded, hiding from a grim DNA test that could prove its paternity of this creature.