"Deputies threw mud all over Congress"

Evam Sena_247 in Brasília – Even though the National Congress is one of the pillars of Democracy, it is regrettable to note that the decision of the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies this Tuesday, to acquit Deputy Jaqueline Roriz (PMN-DF) of expulsion, is sovereign and cannot be appealed to any other instance.

The process was initiated by a complaint from PSOL and PPS to the Ethics Council, in which, in an open vote, 11 deputies voted for expulsion and six against. The rapporteur, Carlos Sampaio (PSDB-SP), understood that the deputy violated decorum by receiving, in a 2006 video, a package of money from the whistleblower of the DEM's mensalão scandal, Durval Barbosa. She said the money was for undeclared campaign funds.

Jaqueline could have appealed to the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ), but she chose not to in order to avoid "new and inevitable embarrassment" for the deputies, as she stated in a letter to the Speaker of the House, Marco Maia (PT-RS). In the CCJ, the vote is also open. However, in the plenary session, the secret ballot and low quorum favored the congresswoman, who was acquitted by 265 votes in her favor, 166 for expulsion, and 20 abstentions.

Jaqueline's defense argued that the video was made before she assumed her mandate as a federal deputy in 2011. The majority that acquitted Jaqueline did so in self-protection. Convicting the deputy would have set a precedent for impeachment for crimes committed before her term. Although there were almost no speeches in Jaqueline's defense, she was acquitted during the secret ballot.

For the congressmen in favor of Jaqueline's removal from office, there is nowhere to appeal. They can only wait for the full Supreme Court to decide whether or not to accept the criminal complaint filed by the Attorney General of the Republic, Roberto Gurgel, last Friday, accusing the congresswoman of embezzlement. The rapporteur for the inquiry is Minister Joaquim Barbosa, who returns from medical leave on September 1st. The complaint has no date set for trial.

"The recorded images are compelling and prove that Jaqueline Roriz contributed to the commission of the crime of embezzlement perpetrated by the then Secretary of State Durval Barbosa, insofar as she benefited from the misappropriation of public assets and resources," Gurgel states in the indictment.

Another alternative, widely proclaimed yesterday in plenary, is to pressure parliamentarians themselves to vote for the end of secret voting. A Proposed Constitutional Amendment that ends the secrecy of voting in Congress has been shelved in the Chamber of Deputies since 2006. Introduced in 2001, it was even approved in the first round, in the wake of the mensalão scandal, when 15 deputies were the target of complaints before the Ethics Council.

In 2006, the second round was scheduled four times but not voted on; in 2007, 106 times; in 2009, 26. The rapporteur, Carlos Sampaio, said he will urge the Speaker of the House to include the proposed constitutional amendment on this year's agenda. Although pressure to end secret voting increases when impeachment requests are considered, parliamentarians would hardly approve the change due to the same self-protective sentiment that acquitted Jaqueline Roriz.

Read below, a news article from 247 about the acquittal of the congresswoman:

The Chamber of Deputies acquitted Representative Jaqueline Roriz (PMN-DF) on Tuesday night in the process to revoke her mandate. There were 265 votes in favor of her, 166 for revocation, and 20 abstentions. 257 votes were needed to remove Jaqueline from office. According to the parliamentarians, the 2006 video in which she appears receiving a package of money from Durval Barbosa, the whistleblower in the DEM's mensalão scandal, did not represent a breach of parliamentary decorum. The main argument used was that, at that time, she was not yet a representative.

The recording in which Jaqueline appears receiving a package of money was first released in March by the Estadão.com.br portal. Based on this, PSOL requested that the Ethics Council open an investigation against the congresswoman. That body decided by 11 votes to 3 to recommend the expulsion of the parliamentarian. In the plenary session, however, the secret ballot and the low quorum helped to save the congresswoman's mandate.

Throughout the day, dozens of protesters demonstrated for the removal of the congresswoman. Banners were displayed throughout Brasília in an attempt to sway the congressmen. Jaqueline arrived at the Chamber shortly before 17 p.m. and used an entrance through a tunnel in Annex I of the Chamber to avoid giving statements to journalists.

The session began at 17:30 PM, an hour and a half late. Even so, only 310 deputies had registered their presence, and fewer than 100 were present when the rapporteur, Carlos Sampaio (PSDB-SP), went to the plenary to explain his opinion to his colleagues. Another example of the little attention paid to the case by the deputies is that only six signed up to speak on the subject.

Among the parliamentarians, the discourse of fear spread by Jaqueline's defense prevailed. The deputies ended up acquitting their colleague to protect themselves from the future, seeing in an eventual conviction the possibility of becoming targets of lawsuits for acts committed before their mandate. Despite the few public defenses, the majority of the House preferred to face public opinion rather than take risks.

Jaqueline's lawyer, José Eduardo Alckmin, was responsible for betting on this argument that it is impossible to punish events that occurred before the term of office. "What we want is for all the facts of a parliamentarian's life to be able to be judged," said the lawyer.

The congresswoman herself used the session that defined her future to speak in the House for the first time about the episode. Frustrating expectations, however, she did not address the merits of the case. Jaqueline preferred to attack the press. "Unfortunately, we are living in a period where a portion of the media devours the honor of any person." She also attacked the Attorney General of the Republic, Roberto Gurgel, who denounced her last week. According to her, the process she faced in the Chamber was due to "absolute political interest."

In her statement, Jaqueline attempted to give an emotional tone to the case. She stated that she and her family had suffered greatly and even mentioned the problem of a son who suffers from hemophilia. She ended her speech asking her colleagues not to condemn her summarily.

The rapporteur for the case attempted to refute the defense's argument, stating that the fact only came to light in 2011 and, therefore, had to be considered new. "The concept of 'indecent act' exists so that we can remove from parliament those who have committed acts against parliament. This can only be discussed at the moment the fact came to light," said the rapporteur.

Sampaio mentioned that Jaqueline herself had already requested the conviction of a colleague when faced with a similar situation. In 2009, the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District impeached Eurides Brito for appearing in a video receiving money from Durval. On that occasion, Jaqueline went to the podium and called her colleague "shameless" and "a person of bad character."

The rapporteur's arguments, however, were insufficient to dissuade the deputies from protecting one of their own, and as a result, Jaqueline Roriz was acquitted and can now "fully recover" her political capacity, as she stated.

The last time the Chamber of Deputies expelled a representative was during the Mensalão scandal. On that occasion, Roberto Jefferson (PTB), José Dirceu (PT), and Pedro Correa (PP) were expelled. In that scandal, six other representatives were acquitted in plenary session.