The session which analyzed the case of the dismissed president of Alerj, Rodrigo Bacellar (União Brasil), began in a tense atmosphere this Friday. To organize the debate, the deputies agreed that three representatives from the left and three from the right would speak before the vote. The first to take the pulpit was Flávio Serafini (Psol), followed by Alexandre Knoploch (PL). Deputy Rodrigo Bacellar (União) was arrested by the federal police last week and is in a four-square-meter cell at the Rio PF superintendence.
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Of the 69 deputies, five did not participate in the vote: four absent and one on leave. Among them, Bacellar himself, arrested on the orders of Minister Alexandre de Moraes. The excluded parliamentarians were Felipe Soares (União Brasil), Vinicius Cozzolino (União Brasil), Cláudio Caiado (PSD) and Dionísio Lins (PP).
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Dionísio’s office said the MP had been absent before and was on medical leave for 15 days, between December 4 and 18, to deal with coronary problems.
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Absences attract attention in União Brasil
But behind the scenes, what sparked the most comments were the absences within União Brasil, Bacellar’s party. The non-participation of Vinicius Cozzolino, who is one of the members of the CCJ, was interpreted as a calculated political move. Allies say that the deputy preferred not to commit himself either to the party base or to the connections he is building with the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes. Representative Carlos Minc (PSB) voted for him during the meeting.
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At issue would be the dispute over oil royalties that weighed on the equation. Cozzolino is the brother of the mayor of Magé, Renato Cozzolino, one of the municipalities directly involved in the recent negotiations on the redistribution of resources.
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Earlier this week, the mayors of Rio, Maricá, São Gonçalo, Magé and Guapimirim signed an interfederal agreement to reorganize the sharing of royalties, a gesture considered historic for the Fluminense East region.
Strategy to avoid political attrition
According to the interlocutors, other deputies also avoided being present so as not to upset their electoral bases and, at the same time, not to create direct friction with Bacellar, still an influential figure in the Chamber.
The general assessment is that the absences were carefully calculated at a time of strong political exhaustion and uncertainty about future developments in the case.
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