Representative Guilherme Dirret (PP-SP) on Monday night (10) presented a new alternative that allows the Federal Police to investigate factions, as long as this happens in partnership or prior communication with state authorities.
The previous text excluded the Federal Police and the Public Ministry from investigations into crimes committed by criminal factions, militias, and paramilitary groups, or there could be cooperation with the approval of the governor.
This change comes after the National Front itself criticized the changes made by Derret, PL Antifaction rapporteur in Congress, stating that the changes represent a risk of weakening measures targeting these groups.
Dirit is Secretary of Public Security in the government of Tarcisio de Freitas (Republicans), and was appointed rapporteur by the President of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicans-PB), last Friday (7). Since it was a project authored by the federal government, this choice was seen as a setback for the Lula (Workers’ Party) government.
Shortly after the Foundation’s statement, Mota reported that he had mediated a dialogue between Dayrit and the Director General of the National Front, Andre Rodriguez, so that the Project would maintain the Foundation’s support in these investigations. Mota included the topic in this week’s voting schedule.
Despite the change, the assessment of experts and members of the government is that the new version is still plagued with problems.
According to the text, the federal police will be able to participate in investigations, as well as in any crime linked to these organizations, on a complementary basis with the state police.
Federal police action must be carried out at the request of or on the initiative of the state police chief or the state prosecutor’s office. However, in this second case, the company will have to inform the state authorities of the investigation.
The actions of the Federal Police, according to the new version, do not automatically transfer the process to the Federal Court. The trial shall take place in the department competent for the crime, in accordance with the nature of the crime and the rules of jurisdiction determined by procedural legislation.
“Amending Article 11 of Law No. 12360/16, to ensure that the Federal Police participate in investigations related to criminal organizations, paramilitary forces or civilian militias, in a cooperative manner with the relevant state police, when the facts investigated relate to matters falling within their constitutional or legal jurisdiction,” the rapporteur says in the document.
“The participation of the State Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office is also ensured, where appropriate,” he adds. “This preserves the privileges already guaranteed in national legislation and promotes the cooperative integration between institutions expected in crimes of this complexity.”
Another point that has been amended is that the previous text stipulates that when there are interstate or transnational repercussions, the Ministry of Justice can, upon provocation by the Governor, determine the joint or coordinated action of federal and state police forces. This point has been removed.
In the Justice Department’s estimation, this introduced a political element into criminal investigations that should be entirely technical.
“The text is still very bad,” said Marivaldo Pereira, Secretary of Legislative Affairs at the Ministry of Justice. “It abolished the requirement to provoke the governor, but it maintains the logic of transferring all powers to the civil police or submitting them to state delegation.”
He continued: “If the National Police wanted to investigate the Crime Bureau and the relevant local authorities, would it be obliged to notify the state itself? The project, in practice, creates mechanisms to protect organized crime. It is a Christmas gift that Dirit gives to criminal organizations.”
The first version of the project was criticized by members of the government, members of the Workers’ Party and parliamentarians, as well as Lula himself, which increased the feeling of mistrust among members of the government towards Motta’s administration. Over the weekend, the head of the executive branch called the representative to complain about the selection.
Government members believe that the report has an “exclusively political and electoral” purpose and represents a setback in efforts to combat organized crime.
The project was the president’s main bet to respond to the public security crisis caused by the massive operation carried out by the Rio police, which resulted in the deaths of more than 120 people. Since its inception, the process has been used as a topic of conflict between the government and the opposition, against the backdrop of the 2026 elections.
Edinho Silva, leader of the Workers’ Party, said: Bound Motta’s decision represents “total partisanship and politicization of an issue that should be dealt with without emotion.”
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