Marcos Chagas Reporter Agência Brasil

Brasília – The ruling by the Federal Election Board (“Tribunal Superior Eleitoral – TSE”) that the Ficha Limpa law is in fact retroactive and does make politicians with convictions in the past ineligible is going to have consequences at the political party level. Parties will be forced to review their own ethical standards and be more rigorous selecting candidates.
Deputy Antonio Carlos Junior (DEM-BA) says that parties will be more careful about who they select to run for office, although it will not be an easy task. Parties will have to reeducate members and draw up ethical codes, he said.
Senator Alvaro Dias (PSDB-PR), the vice leader of the party, said the changes were going to be a “natural consequence” of the new law. “Parties will have to be more rigid or their candidates will be rejected by TREs. Candidates that were possible have suddenly become ineligible,” he pointed out.
Senator Pedro Simon (PMDB-RS) said he saw the law as a step toward ending impunity in Brazil and proof that the idea that “nothing ever changes in Brazil,” is wrong. Simon pointed out that the law was the result of popular pressure (it arrived at the Congress in the form of a petition with over 1.6 million signatures).
However, deputy Cândido Vaccarezza (PT-SP), leader of the government in the Chamber of Deputies, said he saw serious problems with the legislation.
 “I question the legal basis of Ficha Limpa. There is the principle which requires a law changing the rules of an election to be put in place at least a year before the election ("anualidade"). Then there is the retroactive aspect that is detrimental to defendants, something that runs counter to a fundamental part of our jurisprudence.”

Allen Bennett - translator/editor The News in English
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