Lula tries to prevent CPMI from taking the INSS crisis to the Planalto Palace

Ministers and leaders of the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) have stepped up pressure on members of parliament to try to prevent the creation of a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) into irregular deductions from the accounts of retirees and pensioners of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS). The PT members' goal is to try to prevent Congress from expanding the exposure of the scandal and, to do so, they hope to count on an alliance with the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP).

In the Chamber of Deputies, a request for a CPI was filed by the opposition bench, led by the PL , the party of former president Jair Bolsonaro. The request, however, is part of a list of 12 other requests for CPIs, on different topics, and which are awaiting deliberation by the president of the House, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB). The internal regulations allow only five investigation committees to act simultaneously and are being used by president Hugo Motta to block the initiative.

In an attempt to circumvent this rule, deputies and senators also filed a request to set up a Joint Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPMI). This is the responsibility of the President of Congress, Davi Alcolumbre.

Currently, at least 230 deputies and 39 senators have signed the request. In order for a CPMI to be set up, the support of 171 deputies and 27 senators is required. The collection of signatures was led by deputy Coronel Fernanda (PL-MT) and senator Damares Alves (Republicanos-DF). According to them, the objective is to increase the number of supporters, precisely to prevent the government from watering down the request.

Alcolumbre was with Lula on his trip to Russia and China and informed the government that he could postpone, but not prevent, the installation of the CPMI. In Congress, there is no impediment to having a list of committees waiting to be installed. The request should be read at the next joint session of deputies and senators, scheduled for May 27.

The deputy leader of the opposition, congressman Ubiratan Sanderson (PL-RS), said he believes that holding the CPMI in Congress is less interesting for the opposition because of the influence of a government majority in the Senate. "In the Chamber, a CPI would have greater autonomy to investigate everything, no matter who it hurts," the congressman said this Monday (19) to Jovem Pan News.

The Planalto Palace, however, will work with its leaders to try to cancel the congressional session. The measure would postpone the reading of the request until June, the deadline that the government intends to use to withdraw the signatures of the parliamentarians.

"A CPMI, in the environment of political exploitation in which it is being proposed, could compromise the success of the police investigation. This government has already suspended the discounts, putting an end to the theft from retirees, demonstrated that it will take the investigations to the last consequences and works to compensate the victims as quickly as possible", argued Minister Gleisi Hoffmann, from the Secretariat of Institutional Relations.

Lula's minister for political articulation met with members of parliament from parties such as PSD, MDB and União Brasil over the past week to appeal against the request to set up both the CPI and CPMI. Advisors from the Planalto Palace, interviewed by the report, admit that the government fears that the eventual establishment of the committee could end up extending the crisis over fraud at the INSS for months.

This is because an investigation in Congress could drag on for up to six months and, in addition to being dominated by the opposition, could increase President Lula's unpopularity, with less than a year and a half to go until the 2026 elections. “The INSS crisis is over. The CGU has opened the investigation. People have already been arrested, and people are being investigated. The president of the INSS has been ousted, the minister has been ousted. What is the crisis now?” said Senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), leader of the government in the Senate, trying to minimize the crisis.

Change of minister does not reduce opposition pressure against the government

Despite the government leader's signaling, Carlos Lupi's dismissal from the Ministry of Social Security was not enough to reduce the pressure on the government. The now former head of the ministry was forced to resign after being pressured by government officials in light of Lula's negative exposure in the INSS scandal.

During a hearing in the Chamber of Deputies, for example, Lupi admitted that he had become aware of the complaints about irregular deductions from the accounts of retirees and pensioners, but did not open an investigation. The INSS is under the umbrella of the Ministry of Social Security.

“I was practically surprised by the volume of this. I knew there would be a complaint here or there, we always knew. We received complaints, and the INSS platform itself showed some people complaining. But on this scale, with such an organization, with a real gang [I didn’t imagine],” said Lupi.

According to the Federal Police, the frauds, which occurred between 2019 and 2024, may have affected nine million retirees and led to embezzlement of up to R$6.5 billion. The investigations revealed that there were discounts on amounts paid monthly by the INSS, as if the beneficiaries had become members of retiree associations, when in fact they had not joined or authorized the discounts.

In an attempt to stem the crisis, Lupi ended up resigning at the beginning of this month. At the time, Lula appointed the then executive secretary of the ministry, Wolney Queiroz, who was number 2 in Carlos Lupi's administration at the ministry.

"Instead of actually changing the minister, Lula makes a change that changes six of them for half a dozen of them. Carlos Lupi leaves, and Wolney Queiroz, his right-hand man, executive secretary who, since 2023, has participated 15 times in meetings with union members suspected and investigated for fraud at the INSS, enters. It is a mockery of the Brazilian people," said Congresswoman Carol de Toni (PL-SC), leader of the minority in the Chamber.

According to the parliamentarian, the "Lula government is up to its neck in this mess". "That's why we want a CPMI to investigate these frauds. There's no point in trying to prevent the investigation, because those who don't owe anything have nothing to fear", she added.

Lula's brother could increase the government's losses during the INSS CPMI

One of the fears among government members is that the opposition will use the suspicions against the National Union of Pensioners and the Elderly (Sindinapi) to undermine the PT administration. The entity, which is being investigated by the Federal Police in the case of pension discounts , has as its vice-president José Ferreira da Silva, known as Frei Chico, Lula's brother.

According to the Office of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), the entity had a 564% increase in revenue between 2020 and 2024, receiving almost 10% of the total transfers to unions in 2023 (R$ 149 million). So far, only the president of Sindinapi, Milton Baptista de Souza Filho, appears among those named in the investigations. Frei Chico denies any type of irregularity .

If the CPI of the Chamber or the CPMI of Congress is installed, President Lula's brother should be one of the first summoned by the opposition.

"And who is one of those being investigated? It is simply the National Union of Pensioners and the Elderly, whose vice-president is none other than Frei Chico, brother of President Lula. All it takes is for the PT to return and the fraud scheme at the INSS, pension funds, and private funds to divert funds from the budget will return," argued Congresswoman Carol de Toni.

In the Chamber of Deputies, President Hugo Motta has already indicated that he intends to analyze the opposition's request, but in accordance with the list of requests filed so far. The CPMI depends on the approval of Senator Davi Alcolumbre, who is one of Lula's main allies in Congress.

If the president of Congress, Davi Alcolumbre, resists installing the committee, right-wing leaders have signaled that they will use the 2021 decision of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), which ordered the installation of the Covid CPI, to pressure Alcolumbre. In the preliminary injunction, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso stated that there could be no “possibility of omission or analysis of political convenience on the part of the Presidency of the Legislative House”.

At the time, the Supreme Court minister highlighted that the Constitution establishes that CPIs must be installed whenever three requirements are met: signature of one third of the members of the House; indication of a specific fact to be investigated; and definition of a specific term for its duration. Therefore, there is no possibility of omission or analysis of political convenience on the part of the Presidency of the Legislative House.

"The Senate and the National Congress have to investigate. If they leave it up to this government, they will investigate some entities and leave out, for example, the entity that is linked to the brother of the current president Lula, Frei Chico, whose story I have known for many years," said Senator Márcio Bittar (União-AC).