Mendonça, from the STF, denies a deputy’s request to suspend PEC that expands benefits

Minister André Mendonça, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), denied this Thursday (7) a request for an injunction (urgent decision) by Deputy Nereu Crispim (PSD-RS) to suspend the processing of the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution). ) which increases Auxílio Gás, expands Auxílio Brasil and creates aid for truck drivers and taxi drivers.

The estimated cost of the proposal is R$ 41.2 billion. Mendonça justified that an eventual appreciation of the PEC by the Chamber of Deputies does not prevent its subsequent annulment, if applicable, for violation of the due legislative process. For this reason, he argued that there is no reason to grant an urgent decision that prevents its processing.

He states that it is necessary for the parties involved in the action, such as the Speakers of the House and Senate, to be heard before a decision is given. He points out that there may be “eventual reassessment” of the case after these clarifications are provided.

According to him, the intervention of the Judiciary in the activities of the other Powers must be of absolute exceptionality, “opting, at this initial moment, for the presumption of constitutional legitimacy of the questioned acts”.

This intervention, he says, should only happen in cases where there is “flagrant, unequivocal and manifest disrespect for the due legislative process.”

“I believe that judicial self-restraint should guide the Supreme Court’s jurisdictional action in such cases, so that, as much as possible, the premature declaration of invalidity of a legislative act still in its formation process is avoided, given the evident risk that it may translate into in undue interference by the Judiciary on the Legislative Power, in violation of the principle of Separation of Powers”, states Mendonça

“In fact, one cannot take for granted or even trivialize the anticipated integral and complete scrutiny of the normative act, still in the political and democratic construction phase within the Legislative Power, under penalty of freezing the legislative function, constitutionally attributed, primarily, to to the Legislature.”

In the action he presented to the Supreme Court, Nereu Crispim, who is president of the Parliamentary Front in Defense of the Self-Employed Truck Driver, states that the PEC could not even be processed, discussed or voted on for violating stony clauses of the Constitution.

According to him, in a note released to the press, the proposal tries to change fundamental clauses of the Constitution in an attack on the separation of Powers, the Democratic State of Law, the treasury, the public budget, among other fundamental precepts.” He also said that the proposal aims to “meet the electoral greed of Jair Bolsonaro”.

On Thursday night, the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira, saw the risk of defeat and decided to postpone the vote on the proposal.