What happens to the term of “fugitive” representatives?

The former head of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) during the era of Jair Bolsonaro’s government was residing in a luxury apartment in Miami, where he fled in September. He was sentenced by the STF to 16 years in prison for the attempted coup, after being defeated in the 2022 elections, in the same operation as the former president. He is considered a fugitive.

Ramajim is joined by Carla Zambelli (PL-SP), who was arrested in July in Italy after fleeing the country and has already been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the STF for invading the National Council of Justice (CNJ) system, and Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), who moved to the United States in February claiming “political persecution.” This month, Bolsonaro’s son became charged before the Supreme Court with an alleged attempt to coerce Brazilian justice by trying to influence US authorities in the process involving the former president.

Belonging to the Liberal Party (PL) and allies of Jair Bolsonaro for the first time, who were detained in pretrial detention on Saturday (22/11), the three federal deputies, despite disagreements with the court, retain funds and positions in the Chamber of Deputies.

According to experts consulted by DW, in addition to the impact on public accounts, the case of the “fugitive” deputies will highlight the inability of Congress and its president, Hugo Motta (Republicans – PB), to punish their members, and will also reveal the search by Bolsonaro’s supporters for a narrative of “persecution” to cover up the crimes committed.

Political deadlock

The Chamber has frozen the salaries of Eduardo Bolsonaro and Carla Zambelli since they left the country. However, they can still get money through the offices. According to the Metropoles website, the former president’s son has already spent more than R$1 million to maintain the nine government employees he has the right to appoint during his term.

Zambelli’s government also maintained spending, despite the MP’s imprisonment in Italy. In September, for example, the expenses of its parliamentary structure exceeded 100,000 Brazilian reals, according to CNN Brasil.

Ramajim, who took a leave of absence from his position in September, before fleeing the country via Roraima to the United States of America, has since cost the public treasury more than R$300,000, including salaries. Poll from Vega magazine.

“From a legal point of view, there are laws and rules to prevent crimes, even if they are committed by parliamentarians. But on the other hand, there is a regulation of the Council, which seems to be designed to protect MPs,” says political scientist Rodrigo Brando, professor at the University of Presbyteriana Mackenzie.

According to the legislation, an MP, even if convicted by the courts, needs to go through a political process to lose his mandate – which requires processing in House committees and voting in plenary, which needs to be directed by the Speaker of the House. In Zambelli’s case, the impeachment process was opened in the Constitution and Justice Committee in July, but has not yet left the collegiate body for plenary session.

Brando adds: “There was probably room in his battalion so that Hugo Motta, who had shown weaknesses in the exercise of power, would not make a decision that, when punished, would displease the Bolsonian base.”

It recalls the case of the rebellion of Bolsonaro’s deputies, who occupied the chamber’s board of directors in August for 36 hours, disrupting parliamentary work. The crisis was only contained thanks to the actions of former President Arthur Lira (PP-AL). “It ended up leaving Hugo Motta hostage to Bolsonaro’s most fanatical group,” the political scientist adds.

“Fugitive” parliamentarians can also lose their mandate due to accumulating absences while exercising their mandate. According to the Constitution, it only takes one-third of the absences in a legislative year for this to happen. The criterion will already apply to Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has already missed 78% of sessions in 2025, and Zambelli, who has missed 55%. On the other hand, Ramajim was present at all sessions – and the former president of Abyan is still on leave in the council, even though he is on the run. Data from the room.

“Eduardo Bolsonaro is perhaps an unparalleled figure in the New Republic, for attacking the state of the United States of America, and clarifying the tariffs against Brazil. However, Hugo Motta did not convene a meeting to revoke his mandate due to errors. At the same time, the rules allow a prisoner in Italy (Zampelli), another fugitive in the United States (Ramagem), and another already indicted and self-exiled, to continue to receive public resources without exercising their mandate,” says Brando. “The rules of the House of Representatives allow this. If the STF makes a decision, the MPs will say it is interference by the powers that be.”

However, the former president’s son was included among the union’s active debts, after the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the National Treasury (PGFN) responded to a request from the same chamber for debts amounting to about R$ 14,000 for not participating in the vote in Congress.

Tarnishing institutional reputation

Lucas Pereira Rezende, a professor at the Department of Political Science at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), sees the behavior of the three deputies in question as an attempt to further discredit Brazilian institutions.

For him, even with parliamentarians convicted by courts in other countries, the effects on international relations will be low. “It is normal that even between partner countries, the extradition process can take some time or even be rejected, without harming relations,” he says. “The biggest threat is not from the outside,” Rezende adds. “It is from within.”

He sees, in the case of Eduardo Bolsonaro’s “self-imposed exile,” a repetition of Bolsonaro’s strategy of trying to demoralize the democratic rule of law. “It is clear that he (Eduardo Bolsonaro) is manipulating the institutions, because the dismissal of a representative due to his absence is very rare in Brazil. These are the ways, within the legal and normative tools of the Chamber, to manipulate the rules,” explains the UFMG professor.

Since the restoration of democracy in the country, only three representatives have lost their mandate due to absence: Chiquinho Brazão, accused of being the mastermind behind the murder of Councilwoman Mariel Franco, in 2025; and Felipe Chidi and Mario Bouchardet, both in 1989.

In the case of Eduardo, Zambelli and Ramajem, Rezende points out, the lack of reaction from the Chamber gives society an image of leniency, further demoralizing the institution in the eyes of public opinion. “What will happen is to reinforce the lack of commitment before Brazilian society to the demands that affect society. The use of these narratives, which aim to favor a specific vision of the Bolsonari and of these figures individually, is quite clear,” concludes the UFMG professor.