Aras, the businessman, and the law

President Lula is not bound by the list formed by the Association of Federal Prosecutors, nor is he bound by any veto.

Por Luiz Carlos da Rocha

In a recent article (https://www.conjur.com.br/2023-ago-09/luiz-carlos-rocha-lavajatismo-bolsonarizar-aras-lula), I said that bolsonarizing Aras and Lula would be the last move of the so-called Lavajatism to try to prevent the reappointment of the Prosecutor General.

This week's factoid (https://www.metropoles.com/colunas/guilherme-amado/exclusivo-empresarios-bolsonaristas-defendem-golpe-de-estado-caso-lula-seja-eleito-veja-zaps) confirms what I said and, reveals that the arsenal of invectives coming from this movement has reached the point of exhaustion, devoid of any respect for national intelligence and, above all, that of President Lula. And, let's face it, underestimating Lula's political expertise isn't exactly smart.

On to the facts that the factoid tries to hide:

On August 2022, on the basis of two newspaper articles and a request from Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, based on the selective leaking of confidential investigations in the scope of the Federal Supreme Court, PET 10543 was filed with the Supreme Court to

investigate the activities of an alleged group of businessmen who were financing a coup d'état.

Without the case file ever reaching the PGR (Office of the Prosecutor General), Alexandre de Moraes, a member from the Federal Supreme Court, ex officio, ordered the removal of the banking secrecy of companies and businessmen and the blocking of the businessmen’s bank accounts and social networks.

Back then, reports in political columns hinted at supposedly compromising conversations between Augusto Aras and Meyer Nigri, one of the group's businessman. Now, a year after the deceitful selective leaks (the golden rule of the “Lava Jato” manual for manipulating public opinion), and faced with the likelihood of Augusto Aras' reappointment by the President to the post of Prosecutor General, the subject has been rehashed and seasoned with new poisons from an increasingly less creative Lavajatism witchcraft.

Using the same devious methods as last year (newspaper reports based on selective leaks), some press organizations are publishing selected excerpts from private messages between businessman Meyer Nigri and Augusto Aras on the eve of President Lula's decision on the reappointment of the Prosecutor General.

However, despite the discomfort of having personal conversations leaked, Aras must have liked the result of the leak for his image. The reports prove that, for him, the law applies to everyone.

The imaginary favoring of Meyer Nigri by Aras consists, according to the report, of four "facts", which, prove exactly the opposite of what the factoid wants to convince public opinion:

(i) The first "fact" consisted of an alleged attempt by Aras to interfere in the investigations.

Meyer allegedly asked Aras a question about the disclosure of Randolfe Rodrigues' request for the arrest of the alleged financiers. An opinion, not a request for interference, as it should

be emphasized. In response, the Prosecutor General allegedly said that it was "another abuse by the guy". Obviously, the abuse to which the Prosecutor General was (correctly) referring to was the selective leaking of information covered by judicial secrecy. The "guy" could be none other than the journalist responsible for the leak. Who else could it be?

Aras saying that the selective leaking of information covered by secrecy was an abuse should come as no surprise. Aras is an avowed advocate of civil liberties. It was this position that drove him against the Lavajatism abuses, including the selective leaks to selected journalists against selected victims for political purposes, of which the biggest victim was Lula. Or wasn't that how Lula got to prison? There is no Lavajatism without the modus operandi of the Lavajatism press.

Aras' belief in civil liberties is nothing new. To demonstrate this, we don't need more than a few examples of the Prosecutor General's defense of democratic criminal procedure. In the action 4781 (about fake news), the Prosecutor General defended the legality of criminal investigations, including giving lawyers access to the case file, following strictly the Supreme Court Binding Precedent 14 (https://portal.stf.jus.br/jurisprudencia/sumariosumulas.asp?base=26&sumula=1230). The request to dismiss action 4828 (against anti-democratic acts) was accepted by the Supreme

Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. When ADPF (a constitutional lawsuit similar to a constitutional review) 847 was filed, the aim was to safeguard the prior hearing and participation of the Public Prosecution Office in all police measures that restrict rights (https://redir.stf.jus.br/estfvisualizadorpub/jsp/consultarprocessoeletronico/ConsultarProcessoEletronico.jsf?seqobjetoincidente=6183829). What could be scandalous about the Prosecutor General's action to defend the prerogatives of the Federal Prosecution Office in criminal matters, in this case, the prior hearing of its agents before the Court’s decision? It is a trivial duty of the Prosecutor General to defend the prerogatives of the Public Prosecution Office.

The Office of the Prosecutor General's guarantism under Aras' command is clear and a result of his firm action before the Supreme Court and the Superior Court of Justice, with the Public Prosecution Office fulfilling the mission expressly conferred on it by the Constitution.

(ii) The second "fact" presented by the report refers to a folkloric private request by Meyer, related to a publication against a film created by comedian Danilo Gentili, who was accused by Bolsonaro supporters of advocating pedophilia. Once again, Aras was strict to the law. In this case, faithful to the principle of the natural prosecutor. According to the report itself, Aras replied to Meyer: "It's a matter for the first instance jurisdiction. Probably in S?o Paulo."

(iii) The third "fact" is related to an alleged request for the Prosecutor General to adopt a certain legal understanding regarding the deadline for a lawsuit filed against a member the Congress. Meyer wanted the lawsuit to proceed. Well, Aras did not comply with the request. The report expressly acknowledged that "the PGR, however, did not agree with the argument".

(iv) The fourth "fact" would be an unusual and unreasonable request for the Office of the Prosecutor General to act to have Brazil declare Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist groups, without the need for approval from Congress. The businessman's outlandish request - typical of the ignorance of those who have no idea what the democratic rule of law is - wasn't worth a response from Aras, as the article acknowledges. Not answering is a polite - but not less incisive - way of saying “no”.

Well, that's what Aras' Bolsonarism in this case boils down to: smoke, foam. A businessman asks for Ara’s opinion and makes requests. Aras doesn't comply with any of the requests,

because the law doesn't allow it. Aras sided with the law.

The fact is that a year of investigations resulted in Justice Alexandre de Moraes' decision to dismiss them. There was nothing in the private conversations between those Brazilians, businessmen ideologically aligned with Bolsonaro, to justify continuing the investigations. It was as simple as that.

The investigations were dismissed against all but two of those investigated. One of them, Meyer Nigri, the businessman who asked Aras for his opinion and made requests to him, which were all - all! - denied, because they couldn't not be denied without violating the law. Aras complied with the law.

If the aim of the rehashed news article was to undermine Augusto Aras and prevent his reappointment as Prosecutor General, it backfired. The abominable leak, a typical Lavajatism practice, only served to highlight the Prosecutor General's commitment to civil liberties and to the rule of law, even when private interests are harmed. Between Nigri's daydreams and the law, Aras stuck with the law. A member of the Lava Jato crew wouldn't do that. Neither would a Bolsonaro supporter. A Prosecutor General would.

A year of investigations and the mountain gave birth to this rat? Is that all Lavajatism has to offer to try to clamp down on President Lula's freedom to reappoint the Prosecutor General if he wants to?

When he was appointed by Bolsonaro in 2019, Aras was attacked for being a leftist (https://www.metropoles.com/brasil/politica-brasil/indicacao-de-aras-para-pgr-irrita-bolsonaristas-nas-redes-sociais). Leandro Ruschel said on Twitter: "If Bolsonaro had any idea of the damage done to his base by appointing a pro-establishment leftist to the head of the PGR, I don't think he would have made such a choice." The “Vem Pra Rua” movement criticized the choice. State Congressman Arthur do Val (DEM-SP): "Augusto Aras spoke “presidenta” (in reference to a non existent difference in the Portuguese language between the noun president referring to a woman and referring to a man, as it happens in numerous other nouns of the Portuguese language), said that Che Guevara dared to dream and threw a party for the Workers' Party (PT) leadership. This is the guy Bolsonaro chose for the PGR," he said.

Bolsonaro supporters didn't forgive Aras for throwing a party at his house for the launch of a book by Emiliano José, a Workers' Party member from Bahia, about the military dictatorship (https://www.poder360.com.br/brasil/cotado-para-a-pgr-augusto-aras-deu-festa-para-cupula-do-pt/). When Aras was considered for the post in 2019, Chief of Staff Onyx Lorenzoni reminded him of that party at his home in 2013. Aras didn't back down. He said that the book was a tribute to his father, Roque Aras, who fought against the military dictatorship, and that he would do it all over again because his father is more important than any office. Roque Aras was a member of Congress for the MDB in the line of the militant Francisco Pinto, he was a friend of Moniz Bandeira and migrated to Brizola's PDT (Democratic Labour Party) following the end of the two-party system. A man who doesn't deny his father in order to get to a high office is worthy of the post.

Called a supporter of the Workers' Party by Bolsonaro supporters and a Bolsonaro supporter by the resentful Lavajatism media, Aras, when reappointed by Lula, will be called the way his biography and democratic courage dictate. He will only be called Prosecutor General, head of a permanent State institution, the Public Prosecution Office.

The objective is not to force President Lula to reappoint Aras, but to show that the objections being leveled against him are invalid and that the veto of his name is a flagrant attack on the broad freedom that should mark the action of the President in appointing the General Prosecutor.

Luiz Carlos da Rocha is a lawyer, senior partner at Fran?a da Rocha Law Firm and holds a master's degree in Law.