In Congress, pro-government talk of “excess”, opposition of “impeachment”

Opposition leaders expressed support for the federal police actions set out this Friday (Mar. 4), like the bench warrant issued to former President Lula. For the government supporters, the new stage of Operation Car Wash proves the political aspect of the operation.

Through a statement, Deputy Roberto Freire, national president of the opposition party PPS, defended that the opposition should mobilize to vote the impeachment in Congress, and urged the population to take to the streets and defend the investigations of Operation Car Wash.

Antonio Imbassahy, leader of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) in the Chamber of Deputies, said the new stage of Operation Car Wash brought to light "a criminal organization." For him, this strengthens both the president's impeachment proceedings being discussed in the House, as the cases filed in the Superior Electoral Court, probing into Rousseff's re-election campaign supplier.

But the government supporters reacted. In the Chamber of Deputies, Workers' Party (PT) leader Deputy Afonso Florence said that Lula's bench warrant confirms that Operation Car Wash is a political and illegal operation. "Illegal because former President Lula testified several times and there is no trace, nor evidence against him."

In the PT member's view, there is an action politically coordinated with the opposition because President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment would have lost strength. "We'll be vigilant in all states during the day and undertake a set of initiatives to defend democracy and President Lula," he declared.

On PT's Facebook page, PT Chairman Rui Falcão described the federal police action set out against former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as a "political, mediatic, and police-like operation".

PT deputies and senators went to São Paulo for a meeting in the national directory with the party's president. The idea is to discuss the political scenario before the impact of Senator Delcídio do Amaral's alleged plea bargaining, also member of the PT—published by Isto É magazine Thursday (Mar. 3)—and to express solidarity with former President Lula. The party's major concern at the moment is to mobilize activism in defense of the former president and President Dilma Rousseff.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta