The former president Michel Temer and the deputy Elmar Nascimento (União-BA) met at the beginning of April for a conversation about the dispute for the presidency of the Chamber, scheduled for February of next year.
Ally of the current president, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), and candidate to succeed him, Nascimento presented Temer with a proposal that, in practice, would be a gesture to the opposition and allies of Jair Bolsonaro. The PL, the former president’s party, represents the largest group in the Chamber, with 95 deputies.
The measure would be a kind of partial amnesty for Bolsonaro, the target of multiple investigations that could lead to up to 30 years in prison. The idea is this: if the former president is sentenced to 10 years for an attempted coup, for example, the sentence would be suspended for the same period, as long as he does not commit the same crime again within this period.
That is, it would be applied to suspension of the execution of the sentence and the former president would not be arrested, in the event of a possible conviction. On the other hand, the effects of the conviction, such as ineligibility, would be maintained. Thus, he would continue to be prevented from contesting the next elections. The measure, to be effective, would need to be approved by deputies and senators.
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Bolsonaro’s reaction
The argument used in the conversation was that, in the past, crimes of torture and murder during the dictatorship were amnestied as a gesture of pacification of the country, and that a movement from all parties in this direction is necessary. “What will be the reaction in the country if Bolsonaro is arrested? Will there not be a popular upheaval?” asks a supporter of the former president, bringing up the same debate as when Lula was arrested – and which, in practice, did not generate large popular movements.
Michel Temer was sought out precisely because of his relationship with the minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the investigations into Bolsonaro that are taking place at the Federal Supreme Court – Moraes commanded the Ministry of Justice during the Temer government, and was appointed by the former president to the Court. Temer, say parliamentarians, would have had to consult magistrates in an attempt to measure acceptance of the proposal. VEJA tried to contact the former president, but received no response.
Bolsonaro learned about the partial amnesty recently, but indicated that he would not support the measure. “Only after they bury my body,” he said, highlighting that there is no reason to continue being prevented from contesting the elections.