Delight’s anti-faction project undermines the state’s role against factions and makes it difficult to lose assets, experts say

Moreover, according to this understanding, the document opens a loophole that criminalizes legitimate expressions of social movements. Delight, who was public security secretary in the government of Tarcisio de Freitas (Republican) in São Paulo, took a leave of absence and returned to the chamber to be the rapporteur on the document sent to Congress by the federal government. The choice of House Speaker Hugo Motta (R-PB) provoked opposition from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and officials from the Ministry of Justice.

Delight’s opinion, presented on Friday, does not directly classify criminal organizations as terrorists, as right-wing MPs have argued. However, the text equates acts such as dominating territory, attacking security forces, and obstructing public services to acts of terrorism, with harsher penalties ranging from 20 to 40 years.

Delight made this addition to the anti-terrorism law, which currently only applies to actions taken by “one or more individuals motivated by xenophobia, discrimination or prejudice based on race, color, ethnicity, or religion.” Experts maintain that changes to expand the fight against factions remain in the Criminal Organizations Act, as stipulated in the government’s original text.

Prosecutor Vladimir Aras, a doctor of law, agrees with tougher penalties, but thinks it is “problematic” that the concepts of organized crime and terrorism are being confused. He said this could raise questions about the competency of ongoing investigations between federal and state authorities and could lead to annulment. By legal definition, terrorism investigations are the responsibility of federal authorities.

— Uncertainty regarding the jurisdiction of state or federal courts increases procedural delays and increases the risk that a proceeding will be struck down by a court. By including all the innovations in the Criminal Organizations Act, this risk will not arise and it will be possible for factions to be treated as terrorists if they commit terrorist acts, Alas said.

Prosecutor Lincoln Gakiya, who has worked on the fight against the PCC for more than 20 years and participated in the preparation of the anti-sectarian project, followed the same line, saying that Mr. Delight’s successor continues to equate the faction “in effect” with a terrorist organization. He assesses that if the documents are kept in such conditions, it could have a negative impact on the experience accumulated in the investigation.

— Currently, all 80-plus factions in this country are considered terrorists by “equalization,” which is really the same thing. All capabilities accumulated in the ministry’s Gaecos (Special Action Group for Combating Organized Crime) will be neutralized. State police will assist in the investigation, which will be coordinated by federal troops. This is the weakest point of the opinion, prosecutors said.

Analysts also called for the reinstatement of a clause providing for “special loss of assets” in the event of death or the termination of a criminal proceeding due to statute of limitations.

— Today, assets acquired by the defendant, even illegally, are retained by the defendant or his successors. In the event of extraordinary losses, these assets would be confiscated, Alas explained.

In the opinion of scholars, Delight’s text still contains some common concepts that have the potential to criminalize social movements. This arises from a provision that equates “acts of terrorism” with acts that “restrict, limit, obstruct, or obstruct, even temporarily, the free movement of persons, goods, and services, public or private, without a legitimate motive recognized by the legal system.” According to this view, this excerpt could eventually be applied to popular demos, for example.

— I think this project is very dangerous. This is because righteous attempts to make the criminal treatment of factions more severe may increase the risk of loss of (economic) competitiveness, international intervention, and limitation of civic space by population. — said Renato Sergio de Lima, Director and President of the Brazilian Public Security Forum and Professor at the Foundation (FGV).

The mention also caused displeasure at the Ministry of Justice, which was also expressed by the ministry’s National Secretary for Legislative Affairs Marivaldo Pereira.

— Stay tuned for more point-by-point analysis. But soon the typical behavioral framework of social movements draws our attention. There is a difference between a crime barricade and a roadblock. If a social movement obstructs the main street, a situation comparable to that of terrorists will arise. This is what the far right has always demanded. Pereira said it’s unfortunate that projects like this are so politicized.

Some say it is an opinion that gives room for attacks on national sovereignty. For example, the United States often relies on the concept of “extraterritoriality” to attack terrorist groups in areas over which it has no jurisdiction.

— There is confusion in the project. One is terrorists and the other is terrorist methods. The mafia dynamited the Italian judge (Giovanni) Falcone (who was engaged in Operation “Clean Hands”). Although they are a mafia organization that uses terrorist methods, their motives are completely different from terrorists such as Hamas and Al Qaeda, and although they do business on the left, right, and center, they only pursue profit. Terrorism, on the other hand, is political violence with an ideology, says legal scholar Walter Meyerovich, former judge of the São Paulo State Court of Justice and author of the book “Mafia, Power, and the Anti-Mafia.” — Changing definitions creates confusion, risks and infringements on a country’s image and economy.

Researchers emphasize that there are indeed links between Brazilian factions and terrorist organizations, including sharing money laundering schemes and exploiting drug and arms trade. However, in their view, mixing the concepts would violate international conventions and affect the country’s economy.

— Organized crime is a business. Terrorism is religion, ideology, and sectarianism with political objectives. Terrorism is financed by organized crime around the world, including Hezbollah’s cigarette smuggling operations on Brazil’s triple border. But smugglers supporting Hezbollah are profit-seeking criminals and should be treated as such, said Leandro Pique, coordinator of the School of Multidimensional Security at the University of São Paulo (ESEM).

Pierpaolo Bottini, a lawyer and professor in the Department of Criminal Law, Criminology and Forensic Medicine at the USP School of Law, added that the prison system, where factions have a strong presence and recruit new members, was excluded from the proposal.

— Mere equality seems to me to be as symbolic as increased penalties and increased criminal enforcement. More incarceration won’t solve the problem, Bottini said, because we know that Brazil’s criminal organizations operate and proliferate precisely within prison walls. — Influencing the financial flows of criminal organizations, together with effective policing and state presence in occupied territories, is the best way to reduce their activities.