Singer: Clash between powers opens chance for balance.
Political scientist André Singer states that "this week's debate surrounding abuse of authority may ultimately yield some positive results"; for him, "since the Senate opted to reopen the discussion, there is a chance that the balance of power will function"; "Even if one should be suspicious of the Chamber of Deputies, in this case it may have helped in the necessary control of a group of public agents whose scope of action has visibly grown in Operation Lava Jato," he emphasizes; he considers, however, that "the allegations of the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office that it is necessary to preserve, in specific legislation, the independence of the Powers, as provided for in the Constitution, deserve attention."
247 - Political scientist André Singer states, in an article published this Saturday (3), that "this week's clash around abuse of authority may, in the end, generate some positive result". For him, "since the Senate chose to reopen the discussion, without following Renan Calheiros' incredible maneuver of rushing to vote on what the Chamber had approved in the dead of night, there is a chance that the balance between the Powers will work".
"There seems to be a consensus among experts that the current law on abuse of authority, enacted in 1965, needs updating. Last August, lawyer Luís Francisco Carvalho Filho wrote in his bi-weekly column in Folha: 'Judge Sergio Moro's movement, with the support of magistrates and investigators, against a bill that defines crimes of abuse of authority has a reactionary and corporatist bias.' In other words, even if one should be suspicious of the Chamber of Deputies, whose decisions in recent months have been more than questionable, in this case it may have helped in the necessary control of a group of public agents whose scope of action has visibly grown in Operation Lava Jato. Recent episodes, such as the arrest and immediate release of former minister Guido Mantega, showed the arbitrariness operating live and in color," he emphasizes.
He further considers that "the claims of the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office that it is necessary to preserve, in specific legislation, the independence of the Powers, as provided for in the Constitution, deserve attention." "Making one Power limit the other is the secret to allowing some freedom to the citizen, whose individual power is minimal in the face of modern organizations. In today's Brazil, perhaps open negotiation will generate a balanced solution on the issue of abuse of authority, a matter of greater interest to society and the Republic. It is up to public opinion to seize the opportunity to obtain one of the few benefits in sight in this whole crisis," he reinforces.
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