Kennedy: postponing Cunha's impeachment would be a scandal.
"There is behind-the-scenes maneuvering to decide Dilma's fate first," says journalist Kennedy Alencar, who warns the new Speaker of the House: "Postponing Cunha's removal until after Dilma's impeachment is a maneuver that should be prevented by the Speaker of the House, Rodrigo Maia, who has the power to put the case to a vote. This decision will be a major test for Maia to either make his leadership of the House viable or sink it."
By KENNEDY ALENCAR, in your blog
Common sense suggests that the impeachment votes against Dilma Rousseff and the removal of Eduardo Cunha from office should take place this August. However, these votes are not a foregone conclusion, even though the country needs definitive answers on these issues.
Since December 2nd of last year, when Eduardo Cunha (PMDB-RJ) accepted the request to open impeachment proceedings against President Dilma, eight months have passed, during which a major crisis has unfolded in the country, generating uncertainty. And Eduardo Cunha had already been openly blackmailing Dilma since July 2015. Therefore, it is an issue that has dominated the country for over a year.
Since Senate President Renan Calheiros wants to appoint a federal deputy to the Ministry of Tourism, Marx Beltrão, from the PMDB party in Alagoas, is threatening behind the scenes to delay the impeachment vote against the president. This is pressure on Temer to appoint a deputy who is facing charges of embezzlement in the Supreme Federal Court (STF). Temer wants to wait for a possible judgment in this case, still in August, before deciding. If the deputy is acquitted, he becomes minister. If not, let Renan find another name.
But the Senate president is pressuring Temer, and the vote on Dilma's impeachment could be delayed by a week or two. But the most serious case is that of Eduardo Cunha.
The Speaker of the House, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), suggested voting on the expulsion in the second week of August. That is, next week. However, there is a movement within the House and among ministers in the Temer government to vote on Cunha's expulsion after Dilma's impeachment. If this happens, it will be an attempt to give Cunha a chance to escape. It would be a scandalous maneuver.
The case of the former Speaker of the House is more than ripe for debate and has been dragging on longer than Dilma's impeachment. Voting on economic issues, such as state debt, before Cunha's removal from office is opening a door for the House to postpone his removal.
The Chamber's priority should be deciding Cunha's fate. Resolving this matter once and for all. He lied to the Petrobras CPI in March 2015 when he said he didn't have an account abroad. Accounts in Switzerland were later discovered. He is already facing two lawsuits in the Supreme Court.
Postponing Cunha's removal from office until after Dilma's impeachment is a maneuver that should be prevented by the Speaker of the House, Rodrigo Maia, who has the power to put the case to a vote. This decision will be a major test for Maia to either make his leadership of the House viable or ruin it.