PEC da Armage inhibits law application to parliamentarians, says law professor

The PEC of the Armage, which had the base text approved by the House on Tuesday (16), will inhibit the application of the law to parliamentarians, says Oscar Vilhena, director of the São Paulo Law School of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV Law SP).

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“The National Congress is seeking to approve a proposal that will transform members of the legislature into a caste immune to any kind of legal or political limitation,” says the lawyer and teacher, doctor of political science at USP.

For Oscar Vilhena, “they want to create a mechanism that inhibits any form of law enforcement in relation to misconducts or even crimes committed by parliamentarians.”

The armor PEC requires the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to obtain the endorsement of Congress before prosecuting a parliamentarian.

Vilhena recalls that the proposal arises in a context of other measures that loosen “democratic, financial and legal” control over deputies and senators. This, in the jurist’s view, is serious.

“There has been a great increase in party funds, which gave political parties autonomy over the rest of society, and parliamentary amendments increased the potential to make a policy regardless of the alignment of parties with governments,” says the professor.

Amnesty to involved in scammers

In dealing with another prominent theme of Congress, Oscar Vilhena says he does not see the possibility of an amnesty project to be approved. For him, parliamentarians should vote on a penalty reduction to people involved in the scammer acts of January 8, 2023.

“Amnesty is unconstitutional. Now, feather reduction, no. It’s a criminal policy. It is up to Congress to determine. But if I do, I think it will not have much consequences,” he says.

For the jurist, the reduction of penalties has a political intention to favor former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), convicted by the Supreme Court for attempted coup to a 27-year and 3 months.

The law professor evaluates that congressional pockets can achieve a favorable negotiation on penalties reduction, which would please militancy. “They can respond to their voter, but deep down this does not change Bolsonaro’s status to have been convicted and have the arrest decreed in some near future,” he says.