In an interview with CNN on Wednesday (5th), Justice and Public Security Minister Ricardo Lewandowski stated that the Public Security Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) is expected to be sent to Congress “in the coming days.” The proposal is currently stalled in the Civil House for possible adjustments. “It is a political decision, and it seems to me that the issue is quite mature. Minister Rui Costa and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva themselves have said they intend to send it to the National Congress in the coming days,” emphasized Lewandowski.
The minister presented the PEC to the 27 governors in January, who expressed concerns about possible federal interference in the states’ autonomy regarding administration. On that occasion, the former STF magistrate reiterated that the Union’s attributions in security matters “do not exclude the shared and concurrent competencies of other federal entities in this area, nor do they limit the subordination of military, civil, and penal police and military fire departments to the governors of the states and the Federal District.”
“We made a small correction, taking into account the latest Supreme Federal Court decision, which acknowledged the policing power, so to speak, of municipal guards, which was not so explicit in the 1988 Constitution,” the minister noted on Wednesday.
“The thesis presented by the Supreme Federal Court has been added to the Public Security PEC, especially since there were already other PECs regulating the role of municipal guards. But now we are exactly in line with the Supreme Federal Court,” he continued. Recently, the STF ministers approved a thesis questioning which public security actions can be carried out by municipal guards and which powers belong only to state or federal police forces.
“It is constitutional for municipal guards to carry out urban security actions within municipalities, including community policing, while respecting the competencies of other public security agencies outlined in Article 144 of the Federal Constitution and excluding any judicial police activities, which will be subject to external control by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, per Article 129, Clause 7 of the Federal Constitution. According to Article 144, paragraph 8, municipal laws must adhere to general rules established by the National Congress,” states the Supreme decision.
For Lewandowski, the Public Security PEC is “mature” and “ready to be sent to the Brazilian parliament.”
“Revolution in Security” At the end of February, President Lula stated that he expects the PEC’s approval in the National Congress and intends to initiate a “security revolution.” “I hope the National Congress approves this PEC so that we can revolutionize Brazilian security and provide peace of mind to the Brazilian people,” said the president in an interview with the program Balanço Geral Litoral on TV Record on the 27th. “This PEC will be voted on in the National Congress, and we want to define the role of the federal government and understand where the Federal Police fits in, and how we can collaborate with the state,” he added.
