Anatel’s president change generates impasse in branch succession

Bolsonaro has also chosen the presidents of Cade, Aneel, ANP, ANS and Anvisa.

Behind the scenes, political groups are trying to undermine the succession policy in these bodies by questioning the limits of the new agency law, passed in 2019 and which detaches the term of office of members of the boards from the position of president of the agency.

Opposition politicians, agency technicians who are against the new norm, and even government officials enter this dispute.

Agency employees also criticize the policy of maintaining Bolsonaro’s appointed substitutes, who take turns on the board of regulatory bodies, supposedly serving the interests of the representative.

The current controversy that could undermine Bolsonaro’s plans began with a representation made by the TCU’s own technical area against the appointment of current Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) adviser Carlos Baigorri to the presidency of the agency for a five-year term. .

In the nomination sent to Palácio do Planalto, Communications Minister Fábio Faria asked Bolsonaro to appoint Baigorri to the presidency of the agency for the remainder of his term.

To replace the vacancy to be left on the council by Baigorri, the name chosen was Artur Coimbra, one of Faria’s right-hand men in the ministry.

However, the Subchefia of Legal Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic (SAJ) understood that the request contradicted the new government policy and nominated Baigorri for a five-year term in the presidency.

Bolsonaro managed to pass in Congress, in 2019, a law that, according to the government, modernized the regulatory bodies. The main change was the separation of the position of president from the term of office of the other members of the councils.

Previously, the president of an agency used to be one of the members of the board and exercised the command for the remaining time of his/her term. Now, he goes on to exercise it for five years, regardless of his time in office.

In Baigorri’s case, according to the old law, it would be another two years and eight months in the presidency. With the new law, he would win a five-year term.

According to people participating in the discussions, Planalto asked the Senate to question Baigorri to lead Anatel for five years and Artur Coimbra to join the council for two years and eight months — the remaining term of Baigorri’s term.

The case ended up in the TCU for questioning by the technical area, which has already led to the suspension of the hearing of the nominees until the legal doubts are clarified. Planalto’s concern is that, if the TCU plenary judges the case to be valid, there could be effects on the nominations already made by the government.

When consulted, TCU minister Walton Alencar, rapporteur of the case, said that he called on those involved to speak out and that he should take the matter to the plenary trial within two weeks.

According to advisors involved in the discussions at Planalto, the SAJ argues that the new law leaves no room for this type of questioning.

Union lawyers will argue, for example, that the choice of Antônio Barra Torres for the presidency of Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) took place within this new criterion and was not questioned.

Barra Torres was director of Anvisa, with a term valid between August 2019 and August 2022, and was raised to the presidency in 2020 for five years.

At ANS and ANP the problem is different. Bolsonaro has been holding back the nomination of ANS directors so that, due to an internal maneuver by the agency, three servers are taking turns as substitute directors.

The exchange occurs every six months, the maximum period allowed for a replacement to remain in the position.

This practice has already been criticized by the Sinagencias (National Union of Employees of National Regulatory Agencies) which released, in November, a technical note on the subject.

In July last year, there were four vacancies open at the ANS and Bolsonaro withdrew his own suggestions amid pressure for investigations by the Covid CPI in the Senate about the operator Prevent Senior and that involved the agency.

Today, three directorships are occupied by substitute directors. They are career employees of the agency and have shorter terms.

At the ANP, three agency servants take turns on the board and director Symone Araújo will leave the post in November this year, making room for Bolsonaro to appoint another replacement. The current president has been nominated for a term until 2024.

When consulted, Palácio do Planalto and SAJ did not respond. Sinagencias did not return.