Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court returns Paulo Dantas as governor of Alagoas

On Monday, October 24, Brazil’s Supreme Court Justices Gilmar Mendes and Roberto Barroso overturned the decision that removed Paulo Dantas (MDB) from the post of governor of Alagoas.

The politician was removed on October 11 by Minister Laurita Vaz of the STJ (Superior Court of Justice). The Court’s Special Court later endorsed the decision.

The decisions of the STF were given in three different cases, one presented by the PSB and two by the governor himself.

Gilmar analyzed the PSB’s action. According to the minister, the Electoral Code prohibits precautionary measures against candidates for majoritarian positions from 15 days before the election’s 1st round until 48 hours after the 2nd round (runoff).

“The periculum in mora [danger of delay] is evident, given the proximity of the second round of the majority elections and the risk that arises from the maintenance of precautionary measures that may impact, immediately and irreversibly, the free outcome of the polls, which harms not only specific candidates but the very regularity of the electoral process,” he said.

Barroso said there is “reasonable doubt” about the jurisdiction of the STJ to act in the case since the alleged crimes attributed to the governor were committed when he was still a state deputy.

“Even though, at this procedural moment, it is not appropriate to examine in depth the theses put on trial, there is a doubt that I consider reasonable regarding the competence of the Superior Court of Justice for the judicial supervision of the investigation opened against the patient/complainant,” he said.

Barroso also requested that Minister Rosa Weber, president of the STF, convene an extraordinary virtual session for the other members of the Court to decide whether or not to endorse his decisions.

Dantas celebrated the decision. In his Instagram profile, he said that “the truth won.

The lawyer Cristiano Zanin, responsible for the defense of Dantas, celebrated the decision in a note sent to Poder360.

“The decision is very important because it corrects a situation of injustice and undue interference in the electoral process of the State of Alagoas by an incompetent authority,” he said.

WHAT HAPPENED

Dantas was the target of a Federal Police (PF) operation on October 11 and was removed from office by Judge Laurita Vaz’s decision.

The investigation investigates the alleged “systematic” practice of embezzlement of public resources in the Legislative Assembly of Alagoas since 2019.

The case is investigated in Operation Edema.

He was elected state deputy in 2018. In May 2022, he was indirectly elected to a buffer term in the government of Alagoas.

The election was held after the departure of then-governor Renan Filho (MDB) to run for a seat in the Senate. Renan Filho was elected senator on October 2.

The governor is an ally of Senator Renan Calheiros and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party – PT, left).

He will run in the second round of the state government elections against Rodrigo Cunha (União Brasil), an ally of the mayor Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

Dantas received 46.64% of the valid votes in the first round. Cunha, 26.79%.

The PF fulfilled 31 search and seizure warrants at properties related to the investigated people.

The measures also involve the sequestration of R$54 million (US$10.2 million) in assets and values.

“The necessity and urgency of the precautionary measures carried out this morning – which include search and seizure, sequestration of assets, removal of public function, among other measures – were amply demonstrated in the records of the police investigation and corroborated by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, which supported the court decision,” said the PF in a statement on the day of the operation.

Dantas is investigated for the alleged practice of “rachadinha” (advisor’s misappropriation of salary) when he was a state deputy in the Legislative Assembly of Alagoas.

The Federal Police issued 31 search and seizure warrants to investigate the crimes of a criminal organization, embezzlement, and money laundering.

Dantas was in a hotel in São Paulo when he was the target of the operation. The police officers searched the governor’s luggage and took his cell phone.

With information from Poder360