RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The vice-president of Brazil, retired General Hamilton Mourão, said on Monday, May 4th, that the Federal Supreme Court (STF) crossed the line by issuing such rulings as the suspension of Alexandre Ramagem’s appointment to the Federal Police’s (PF) General Direction and by blocking the Brazilian government’s order to expel from Brazil Venezuelan diplomats allied to Nicolás Maduro.
“I think that everyone has to operate within the limits of their own responsibilities,” Mourão said in an interview.
“The most recent cases, which were the appointment of the Federal Police’s Director General, the expulsion of Venezuelan diplomats, were decisions that fall to the President of the Republic. It is his responsibility, it is his decision to choose his staff, just as head of state he is in charge of the country’s foreign policy,” the General said.
According to Mourão, “the public powers should seek to achieve greater alignment and understand the boundaries of each one’s responsibilities”. He also noted he understands that “today there is a power dispute between the different powers, there is great pressure on the Executive Branch”.
On Sunday, May 3rd, Folha de S.Paulo showed that the government cabinet’s uniformed bloc, although it routinely acts as a firefighter when faced with Bolsonaro’s more extreme behavior, signaled discomfort with the Supreme Court’s rulings.
There is no consensus, and the army commander, Edson Pujol, is seen as unfavorable to the President’s behavior.
However, other high-ranking generals still hold a greater alignment with the Planalto and are closer to Pujol’s predecessor, General Eduardo Villas Bôas, one of Bolsonaro’s advisors.
In recent weeks, the court has handed the Planalto a string of defeats, the greatest of which was the injunction by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, which prevented a family friend, Delegate Alexandre Ramagem, from taking over the Federal Police.
The President was also upset by the reduction in the deadline granted by Justice Minister Celso de Mello, dean of the STF, from 60 to 5 days for ex-Minister of Justice Sérgio Moro to be interviewed regarding charges made against Bolsonaro. The deposition to the Federal Police took place on Saturday, May 2nd.
The military supports the Chief Executive’s opinion that there are excesses in the STF and that the political views of a number of Justices, such as Celso de Mello, should not affect his decisions. On Saturday, May 2nd, Bolsonaro was particularly angered by a ruling of STF Justice Luís Roberto Barroso. The magistrate blocked the Brazilian government’s order to expel from Brazil Venezuelan diplomats allied to Nicolás Maduro.
“The issue of Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ ruling, much of it based on Justice Celso de Mello’s ruling on the inquiry that is underway at the request of the Office of the Prosecutor General. In my view, I think it is the President’s responsibility to choose his staff. Whether we like it or not,” Mourão said.
On Monday, Bolsonaro appointed Rolando Alexandre de Souza as Director General of the Federal Police, a position that would have been filled by Ramagem, a friend of the Bolsonaro family. Mourão said he was not acquainted with Rolando.
“All I know is that he was currently at the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, that he is linked to Detective Ramagem, who was the President’s initial choice. Other than that, I have no further knowledge, since my contacts with the Federal Police are extremely limited”.
Hamilton Mourão said he saw no reason for concern over potential instability in light of Bolsonaro’s statements on Sunday when he said he was standing with the Armed Forces “on the people’s side” and issued intimidating comments.
“I pray to God that we don’t have any problems this week. We have reached our limit, there is no more talking. From now on, we will not only demand, we will enforce the Constitution, it will be enforced at any cost, and it has a double hand,” said Bolsonaro, in a statement broadcast live on Sunday on social media.
One day after meeting with the Army, Navy, and Air Force Chiefs, the President said that “we have the people at our side, we have the Armed Forces at the people’s side, for law, order, democracy, and freedom”.
On Monday, minutes after the interview, the Vice President expressed his views on the incident on social media.
“At a time when the national environment is being clouded by discord and intrigue, it is important to make it clear, as President Jair Bolsonaro stated yesterday [Sunday], that no one will violate the Constitution. Now, each Power has its boundaries and responsibilities,” he wrote.
On the radio, Mourão also referred to Sunday’s event.
“In this demonstration, just as there were people there asking for or proposing more radical ideas that, at the end of the day would not stand up, there was a majority there that was purely and simply in support of President Bolsonaro’s government,” he declared.
The vice president said that Bolsonaro “is committed to democracy, he has committed to uphold the Constitution and he will not exceed those boundaries and he makes that very clear”.
“We have to focus much more on actions rather than on words that are said at some time of greater exaltation”.
Mourão further noted that Bolsonaro lives “the solitude of command,” since he has to make solitary decisions on a daily basis. “So this is a reality. He has to bear the consequences, the responsibility and the weight of directing and governing a country with the features and magnitude of Brazil”.
Source: Folhapress