Brazil Senate ratifies Prosecutor General’s reappointment for second two-year term

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The full Senate on Tuesday, August 24, ratified the reappointment of Federal Prosecutor General Augusto Aras for another 2-year term by 55 votes to 10 and 1 abstention.

The vote was secret and to be approved, 41 votes were required. Earlier in the day, Aras had been approved by 21 senators while 6 voted against in the Chamber’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) hearing.

President Jair Bolsonaro nominated Aras as Federal Prosecutor General Office (PGR) for the first time in 2019, despite the fact that his name had not been shortlisted by the National Association of Prosecutors (ANPR). The president nominated him for another 2-year term in July this year, again without following the list – which is not obligatory.

In his address during the hearing, Aras said that it is not up to the PGR to be a “censor of any authority,” but rather to supervise it. “If I interfere in political debates, consider the notion of a censor. I would become a censor of politics, and I am not a censor. I am the inspector of illegal conduct within the law, within the rules,” he said.

Aras also said that he “carefully analyzes” any case before taking the appropriate measures, and said that this was his approach when he inspected the federal government’s conduct in situations such as the investigation of potential attempt of interference in the Federal Police, anti-democratic acts and alleged dereliction of duty by the president of the Republic.

Aras also criticized Operation Lava-Jato in the CCJ. In his opinion, the model “of task forces with personalization led to a number of irregularities that have come to light.” And he cited as examples “the cases uncovered in Vaza Jato, the frustrated management of large sums of money collected in plea bargains and leniency agreements, through funds not foreseen in the law.”

Alignment with Bolsonaro

Aras was asked by Senator Eduardo Braga about the PGR’s possible omission regarding president Jair Bolsonaro’s anti-democratic statements and actions, such as the allegations, with no evidence, that there is fraud in electronic ballot boxes.

Braga mentioned that Senators Alessandro Vieira and Fabiano Contarato asked the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to open an investigation for dereliction of duty. The legislators allege that Aras was negligent when Bolsonaro criticized the electoral system, failed to defend the democratic regime, and failed to supervise law enforcement in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The request was shelved by Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Monday, August 23, “however, clarification before this committee and the Brazilian nation is required,” he said.

In response, Aras listed decisions he made contrary to what the government advocated, but “in accordance with the Constitution.” He mentioned that the PGR was in favor of compulsory vaccination against Covid-19, unlike the president, for instance.

In addition, Aras pointed out that the PGR was in favor of the constitutionality of the STF internal regulation that underpinned the Fake News inquiry. He also said that the Foreign Ministry was recommended to ensure the permanence of Venezuelan diplomats in Brazil.

In relation to legislative bills presented by the federal government, Aras recalled having been against the full privatization of the postal services and having challenged the constitutionality of the 12-hour by 36-hour shift through individual agreement.

Aras also commented on the printed ballot issue, advocated by president Jair Bolsonaro. “The electoral system was challenged at that time. However, the Prosecutor General’s Office has 74 members, of which the Vice Prosecutor General is a Deputy Prosecutor General. This colleague has broad functional independence and has clearly declared the voting system used to be suitable, given the lack of evidence of fraud,” he said.

“The Prosecutor’s Office does not belong to the government, nor does it belong to the opposition. The Prosecutor’s Office is constitutional. And this constitutional significance means that the position, the efficiency, the work of the Prosecutor General cannot be determined by alignment or divergence with anyone’s ideological or political positions,” emphasized Aras.

Pandemic

About the pandemic, the PGR said he was in favor of local administrators adopting measures such as social isolation. Aras said he disagreed with 30% of preliminary injunction requests lodged by the federal government and in 80% of its manifestations in Covid matters.

Braga asked Aras how the PGR addresses the alleged illegalities, irregularities and defects pointed out by experts in the federal government’s handling of the pandemic.

“Many experts point out that there were omissions by the federal government: they established a national protocol, absence of educational campaigns in open networks, longer term in the application of AstraZeneca and Pfizer, problems in the planning and pace of vaccination,” Braga cited.

Aras assured that “there was no lack of action from the PGR at any time in these 18 months of fighting the novel coronavirus.” According to him, before the World Health Organization declared the pandemic, the PGR was part of the Integrated Office for Monitoring the Novel Coronavirus (GIAC).

The PGR said to have been actively involved in contacts with the company supplying oxygen to Manaus, when the shortage in the Amazonas capital occurred. “I spent about three nights talking with health authorities and White Martins to supply the Northern region with oxygen,” he said.

Aras also said that he will study the Covid investigative committee’s (CPI) final report should he be reappointed. “Rest assured that the PGR, whoever it may be, by the time this report is received will have a team studying all the elements collected. And thus it will be much easier to examine the thousands and thousands of pages that currently comprise the CPI in 30 days,” he said.