Leaders of the PL, the party of former president Jair Bolsonaro and the largest group in both houses of Congress, demanded on Wednesday (2) that Senate President Davi Alcolumbre allow individualized investigations of the authorities named in the Master Bank case and advance impeachment requests against justices of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Brazil's top court. The statements came at a press conference in the Green Hall of the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia, held by the party's leader in the Chamber, Deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante (PL-RJ), and its leader in the Senate, Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ).
According to G1, Cavalcante called for investigations into Justice Alexandre de Moraes, Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet and Federal Police Director General Andrei Rodrigues over the Banco Master scandal. "We have a responsibility to individualize conduct in the CPF and not in the institutions," said the deputy, referring to Brazil's individual taxpayer ID. The party also said it will keep pressing Alcolumbre to move forward the requests against STF justices pending in the Senate.
"The Public Prosecutor's Office is a serious institution that we will always defend, just like the STF and the Federal Police. We will not mix the mistakes and the possible mistakes of individuals with the institutions," Cavalcante said.
Pressure on Alcolumbre
Portinho said lawmakers will pressure the Senate president to have the requests analyzed. "President Davi Alcolumbre will be pressed today. He says there are more than 109 impeachment requests, but it takes just one [to move]," he said. According to SBT News, a request filed by the opposition on Tuesday (1) brought initiatives to remove Moraes to 110, a number without precedent in Brazilian history. Opening a process is the Senate president's decision alone, and approval requires two thirds of the chamber, 54 of 81 senators. The opposition currently holds 32 seats.
Portinho admitted the lack of votes, but said the Master case has changed the 2026 election debate. "We will drop the election campaign, because that no longer matters," he said. Cavalcante agreed: "The election comes second for us. What cannot happen is to let a country be dominated by people who commit crimes in high positions of the Republic. That is not possible." Portinho warned that the pressure will be daily: "If Davi Alcolumbre is just talking and stalling, he will be pressed every day, and it is up to us to keep pressing. And where will we make the big turn? In the elections."
According to Diário do Poder, Cavalcante also said the party backs a new impeachment request against Moraes, that the opposition is preparing legal measures and that more than 41 senators support one of the filed requests. The deputy asked President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to remove Andrei Rodrigues from the Federal Police so that accusations involving the force can be investigated independently. Portinho demanded the resignation of Moraes and the departure of Gonet.
The Master case
The press conference came one day after STF Justice André Mendonça lifted the secrecy on a Federal Police report exposing messages between Banco Master founder Daniel Vorcaro and Moraes. The exchanges indicate the justice discussed with the former banker the possibility of a Federal Police operation targeting him. The content was first reported by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, and TV Globo said it had access to the information. Vorcaro was arrested on November 17, 2025 at Guarulhos airport, in São Paulo, as he tried to board a private jet to Dubai.
The next move in the Senate belongs to Alcolumbre: without his decision, no process opens. At the STF, even after the Prosecutor General's request to shelve the matter, Mendonça is expected to insist that the full court examine the messages between Moraes and Vorcaro, according to G1.