Lula claims to be a friend of Motta and Alcolumbre and is convinced that Messias will be approved in the Senate

BRASÍLIA – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) declared himself a “friend” of the presidents of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), and of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB).

In an interview with SBT News, Lula was asked about what happened in relations with the two presidents. “Nothing happened. Nothing. I am a friend of Davi, I am a friend of Hugo Motta,” he replied. He then stressed that the government had approved “99% of everything we sent to the National Congress.”

“Never in my first two terms have I approved so many things as I approved today in a completely opposed Congress,” he said, adding that he had a minority in the House and Senate.

To guarantee the approval of government projects by Congress, he affirmed that there was “the miracle of democracy, the miracle of conversation, the miracle of exhausting arguments to the end so that we can convince things.” And he said that he had not sent any projects of personal interest or collective interest.

“All the projects we sent were projects of interest to Brazilian society and of interest to Brazil,” he said. He explained that the country has been waiting for tax reform for 40 years, “and we delivered tax reform with this hostile Congress.”

“You don’t always get 100% of everything you want, but you don’t always lose everything. In other words, you gain what is essential to improve the lives of the Brazilian people,” he added.

Operation in the Chamber of Deputies

Lula was also questioned about the decision of the Minister of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Flávio Dino, who ordered an operation within the Chamber of Deputies against the person responsible for the distribution of parliamentary amendments, Mariângela Fialek, former advisor to MP Arthur Lira (PP-AL). The PT deputy recalled that “almost all” of the STF ministers had been appointed by him.

“If I had intervened in the Supreme Court, would I have been imprisoned for 580 days? The truth is that the Supreme Court is totally independent and autonomous and it is a good thing that it is so. The President of the Republic does not want and does not want to interfere in the votes of the ministers of the Supreme Court, just as I do not want them to interfere in the things that I do”, he continued.

He declared that the decisions taken by ministers within the framework of the Supreme Court investigations “is a problem which only concerns the minister. The President of the Republic cannot even give an opinion on this subject”. Lula also stressed that “people forget that they went to search and seize” his house.

Finally, he said he respects the decisions of the House, Senate and Supreme Court, “and I want them to do the same to me as I do to them.” “I respect the autonomy of each federated entity, of each Brazilian institution,” he added.

Confidence in Jorge Messias’ approval

The president responded affirmatively to the question of whether he still believed that the current Attorney General of the Union, Jorge Messias, would be Minister of the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

Messias was appointed to this position on November 20, to the position left vacant by former minister Luís Roberto Barroso. However, the hearing and vote on the name of the Messiah by the Senate was postponed until 2026, due to the resistance of the President of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), who defended the nomination of Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).

“I believe, I work for this, the Messiah works for this. And I did not appoint just anyone, I appointed a very competent lawyer, an extraordinary Attorney General of the Union, who over time demonstrated seriousness and serenity in the way he pleaded and defended the Brazilian State in a way that few have defended,” he said.

“He (Messias) deserves to be there, like Fernando Henrique Cardoso named Gilmar Mendes, like I named Toffoli. And I think he will be a good minister of the Supreme Court,” he added.