As comissões parlamentares de inquérito e o controle legislativo no Brasil.

Abstract

Parliamentary Inquiry Commissions (CPI's) are horizontal instruments of control widely used in democratic countries, and its main function, among others, investigate acts of governments that are considered harmful or illegal, and may culminate in accountability. The objective of this research was to identify patterns of operation of CPI`s in Brazil between 1987 and 2021, a period coinciding with the redemocratization process that took place in the country. Data were collected from the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, and refer to the universe of requirements for CPIS openings, as well as those actually installed. from them it was possible to identify the volume of initiatives and objects of investigation, especially the number of times that the federal executive was the target of attention. The research showed the role of the Chamber of Deputies as the parliamentary house that concentrates the higher number of requirements for creating CPIs (65.4%) and installed CPIs (46.63%). For each CPI installed in a year, on average, more than 2 requirements. It is also possible to verify that the party with the most requirements for installation of CPI in the historical series was the PSDB, with 66 requests, followed by the PMDB with 61, and by the PT with 53. Only these 3 parties concentrated during the period a total of 180 applications, which is equivalent to almost 40% of all requirements prepared in the period. President Lula's first term was the inclusive period of greater proposals both in the Chamber, with 66 requirements for creating a CPI, and in the Senate, with 26. The lowest number of applications was under the government of Itamar Franco, with 19 in total. Finally, the data suggest that in 49.10% of the initiatives the Executive Branch is the target of investigation parliamentary, and that in general the initiatives take place through the parties of opposition, and the CPI's are thus, in addition to being a classic instrument of investigation, a important weapon in the electoral political game.