Paulo Dantas (MDB) is accused of using a social program to promote his candidacy; the action is carried out by a group allied with Arthur Lira (PP)
The MPE (Public Electoral Ministry) called for the impeachment and ineligibility of the governor of Alagoas, Paulo Dantas (MDB), for abuse of political and economic power. The document, filed on Monday (April 1, 2024), was signed by attorney Antônio Henrique de Amorim Cadete. The impeachment extends to Dantas’ deputy, former federal deputy Ronaldo Lessa (PDT). The text will still be included in the agenda for judgment.
The action was taken to court by the Alagoas Merece Mais coalition, a political group headed by senator Rodrigo Cunha (Podemos-AL). The argument is that the Pact against Hunger assistance program, launched in June 2022, was created by Dantas, at the time a candidate for re-election, for electoral purposes. The measure distributed basic food baskets to socially vulnerable people in the State. Here is the full document (PDF – 536 kB).
According to the accusation, in addition to the governor and his deputy, the Minister of Transport, Renan Filho (MDB), also benefited politically from the program as a means of promoting his candidacies. Two months before the launch of the plan, the son of Senator Renan Calheiros (MDB) had left the State government to run for the Senate.
However, the accusation against the Minister of Transport was not accepted. Renan Filho was removed from the process because he did not hold any public office at the time the program was launched.
The Alagoas Merece Mais coalition is made up of allies of the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL). The congressman, in turn, is a long-time rival of Calheiros and his political group, which includes governor Paulo Dantas.
WHAT THE OPINION SAYS
According to the text, there are elements that demonstrate a deviation from the purpose of the social program in favor of Dantas’ candidacy: “In the view of the Electoral Public Ministry, the practice of abuse of political and economic power is evident through the distribution of Basque baskets in the 2022 election year, derived from the so-called Pact Against Hunger”.
The document considers that the program had:
- a significant cost, of R$ 198,918,000, which exceeded resources provided for in the LOA (Annual Budget Law) of that year, in “absolutely disproportionate value” if the stipulated physical goal is considered;
- disproportionality between the number of basic baskets planned and offered, in relation to similar actions carried out in previous years – there was an increase of 91.74% in the number of basic baskets distributed and an increase of 183.59% in the value of basic baskets distributed in the election year;
- potential to interfere with the election result; It is
- electoral use – with repeated mentions of the program in interviews, reports and programs during the electoral period by Dantas.
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT SAYS
To the Power360the press office of the Government of Alagoas declared that the action has no “support base”. Here is the full statement (PDF – 37 kB).
“The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Alagoas presented documents proving that the delivery of basic food baskets had already been in budget execution since 2020. Furthermore, during 2022, Alagoas was under a serious emergency situation, formally recognized, due to the strong rains that hit its territory and the food insecurity situation of its population, as well as that of the country itself, which recorded 33 million people going hungry that year”he stated.
In a note, the government brings a statement from State Attorney Luís Vale, who says that the accusations about political use of the program had “derogatory in nature and were unfounded”. According to him, electoral legislation “ensures that pre-established projects can continue throughout the year, regardless of whether it is a campaign period, strengthening the continuity of actions to combat food insecurity and ensuring their alignment with legal precepts”.
“If the baskets were distributed at a time when hunger was increasing in the State of Alagoas, as the whistleblower herself admits, then it is clear that the reason for distributing more baskets in 2022 was not for electoral reasons. The intention was to guarantee people’s fundamental right to have access to basic food”, stated the prosecutor.
