Lula seeks to project unity on Brazil’s Independence Day, but PF and AGU chiefs do not even greet each other

The official stand at Brazil’s Independence Day parade was meant to show unity among the country’s institutions. Instead, the strained relationship between Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues and Attorney General Jorge Messias was visible even before the ceremony ended.

Both men stood in the same place of honor in Brasília but did not greet each other. Their dispute has worsened since the Banco Master scandal emerged. The tension followed public comments attributed to Rodrigues suggesting that Messias did not want to challenge what he considered “absurd” orders from Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça because the two men were friends.

One of the orders involved sending the Federal Police’s raw investigations into the Lulinha case to the justice’s office. Messias was angered by the insinuations and warned Lula that he would respond on social media. He wrote that institutions should communicate openly, within their powers, and with respect for the independence and harmony of the branches of government.

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Friendships, affinities or personal circumstances, but by the Constitution and the rules of the Republic.

The message appeared one day before the parade, when Messias wrote that public office should never be guided by “friendships, affinities or personal circumstances, but by the Constitution and the rules of the Republic.” On the platform, however, no one discussed the crisis directly. The discomfort remained apparent around the ceremony.

Lula had personally appealed to Supreme Court President Edson Fachin and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre to attend. Fachin had reportedly been uncertain about appearing, but accepted the invitation. The government estimated that 70,000 people attended, while sections of the crowd chanted Lula’s campaign jingle and called for an end to the six-day workweek, a proposal still before the Senate. The event carried the slogan “Sovereignty, the force that unites Brazil,” a central theme of Lula’s campaign for a fourth term.

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Institutions communicate with institutions and do so openly, within the limits of their powers and with respect for the independence and harmony among the branches of government.