PSOL creates a "podium of complicity" to prevent Cunha's removal from office.
Deputies from PSOL – the party that filed the complaint against Eduardo Cunha – stated that there is a "dirty game" going on in the Chamber to delay the expulsion of the PMDB member; to protest, the party created the "Podium of Complicity," with the name of the president of the Chamber, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), and other allies of Cunha who are trying to "drag their feet" on the expulsion process; "Nobody wants to vote for the expulsion of Eduardo Cunha because he might reveal everything," said deputy Ivan Valente (PSOL-SP).
Carolina Gonçalves, reporter for Agência Brasil - The promise to read the Ethics Council's opinion on the removal of suspended deputy Eduardo Cunha (PMDB-RJ) has not yet convinced parliamentarians who defend the loss of the PMDB member's mandate. Deputies from PSOL – the party that filed the complaint against Cunha almost 10 months ago – said today (3) that there is a "dirty game" going on in the House. "It would be possible to vote this week as well as it will be possible to vote next week, but if there is political will and we don't see political will," said Chico Alencar (RJ).
He recalled that the Speaker of the House, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), wanted to condition the vote on a minimum quorum of 400 deputies in the plenary. Meanwhile, the Centrão – a bloc that brings together parties allied to the interim government of Michel Temer – could "remove 200 of the 513 parliamentarians from the plenary." "If they don't schedule [a session to vote on the report], there's no way to know. Schedule it, and whoever is absent will be declaring their complicity [with Cunha]," said Chico Alencar.
Maia's name was displayed at the top of a podium set up by PSOL, dubbed the "Podium of Complicity," featuring the names of parliamentarians they consider responsible for "dragging their feet" on Cunha's impeachment. According to the party, the Speaker of the House, who received the gold medal, is followed by the Executive branch and, in third place, by "negligent" party leaders.
The PSOL leader in the House, Ivan Valente (SP), stated that ten leaders declared, at the last meeting of the committee, their interest in voting on the report, but there is still no date scheduled for the consideration of this text, which may be postponed until after the impeachment vote against Dilma Rousseff and the municipal elections.
"Yesterday, although [Maia] vaguely announced that he will read the report on Monday (8), he did not set a date to put it to a vote. The president of the House is protecting Eduardo Cunha and is threatened by Eduardo Cunha. Nobody wants to vote on the expulsion of Eduardo Cunha because he might reveal everything," he attacked.
According to the Chamber's Internal Regulations, after being read, the report requesting Cunha's removal goes on the agenda after 48 hours, opening the possibility of voting from Wednesday (10). However, Valente said that Maia insists on linking the vote on the removal in plenary, which does not block the agenda, to the approval of the bill to renegotiate the debt of the states with the Union (PLP 257).
Upon leaving the Chamber late this morning, Maia denied that he is protecting Cunha or delaying the conclusion of the proceedings against him. "That's how democracy works: everyone makes the statement they deem appropriate. The House has an agenda and priorities, and it's fulfilling them: it wants to get Brazil out of the crisis. Some want to destroy, others want to build. I want to build," he said, reiterating that the reading of the report on Cunha is still scheduled for next week.