Opposition sees defeat for Lula in the Mensalão report.

The opposition saw in the statement by the Attorney General of the Republic, Roberto Gurgel, asking the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to convict 36 people in the Mensalão scandal, a defeat for the theory disseminated by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that the scheme to buy political support never existed. For the opposition, a mass conviction in the case would be important to reduce any feeling of impunity.

The PSDB leader in the Chamber of Deputies, Duarte Nogueira (SP), was one of those who saw Gurgel's statement as a defeat for Lula. "The prosecutor's statement is formal and material confirmation of the existence of the mensalão scandal. We have to wait for the decision, but this refutes what President Lula himself said, that the mensalão scandal didn't exist, that it was all a ploy by the opposition trying to divert attention."

The president of the DEM party, Senator José Agripino (RN), stated that Gurgel did the "obvious" by confirming the accusation forwarded by his predecessor, Antonio Fernando de Souza. He mocked attempts by the PT party to rehabilitate figures implicated in the scheme, such as José Dirceu and Delúbio Soares. "I want to see what the PT will say about the members they tried to forcibly exonerate."

ACM Neto, leader of the DEM party in the Chamber of Deputies, highlighted that the statement comes at a bad time for the government. He recalled that two ministers, Antonio Palocci and Alfredo Nascimento, left their posts last month due to allegations, and the "crazy ones" scandal was revived with accusations against Aloizio Mercadante, Minister of Science and Technology. "This position of the prosecutor increases the discomfort of the PT and the government, which is involved in several scandals."

The leader of the DEM party in the Senate, Demóstenes Torres (GO), highlighted the fact that the accusation against the mensalão figures occurred at a time when the process of Gurgel's reappointment is underway. His nomination is expected to be analyzed by the Senate next week. He attributed the exclusion of Luiz Gushiken from the list of those accused to this. "He wanted to improve the image of government supporters, trying to gain sympathy during the confirmation hearing."

Demosthenes claims to have lost confidence in Gurgel after the prosecutor refused to assess Palocci's situation. Senator Aloysio Nunes Ferreira (PSDB-SP) made the same reservation. For him, the accusation regarding the mensalão scandal went ahead because there was already a lot of material in the prosecutor's office. "It couldn't be shelved."

The leader of the PSDB party, Alvaro Dias (PR), predicts that the Supreme Court's trial of the Mensalão defendants "will be historic." "The prosecutor reaffirms the accusation made by his predecessor, even resorting to vehemence and a devastating accusation regarding the existence of a criminal organization interested in maintaining a political project with the full knowledge of the Presidency of the Republic," the politician emphasized.