Follow up Ministry of Truth: after criticism, Brazilian AGU says that regulation of the new prosecutor will undergo public consultation

Brazilian Attorney General’s Office (AGU) informed that it will hold a public consultation to discuss the regulation of the National Attorney for the Defense of Democracy.

The new structure has generated criticism, as there is a fear that it will end up being used to curtail freedom of expression and become a kind of “Ministry of Truth”.

The agency denies that this will happen and claims that there is a lack of understanding about the role of the AGU in this area, according to clarifications sent to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.

In a note sent to the vehicle, the AGU informed that the “regulation should be submitted to public consultation to allow different sectors of society, including experts and representatives of other bodies and institutions imbued with the defense of democracy, such as the professional press itself, to can give their opinion and suggest improvements”.

The announcement about the new prosecutor was made by the new attorney general of the Union, Jorge Messias, on Monday (2nd), during the transfer of office ceremony. Upon taking office, with the status of minister, Messias stated that he hoped to make a “decisive contribution to the rescue of our democracy with the resumption of harmony between the powers of the Republic” and that “attacks on authorities will no longer be tolerated”.

The official objective would be “combat misinformation about public policies”. But opposition lawmakers heard by Gazeta do Povo claim that there is a risk that anyone who criticizes the new government’s public policies, for example, could be prosecuted. Federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro said he will present a Legislative Decree Project (PDL) to try to stop the measure. But Congress resumes activities only in February.

In addition to him, federal deputy Kim Kataguiri (União-SP) informed that he filed a representation in the Public Prosecutor’s Office and also presented a Draft Legislative Decree to prevent the initiative of the PT government. According to Kataguiri, it is not up to the Executive branch to make an analysis of what is or is not true.

“This is something of an authoritarian state. And it is absolutely unacceptable that the executive act as a ‘big brother’ watching the steps of each citizen and punishing them for that,” said Kataguiri.

With information from Gazeta do Povo