The difficulties in moving forward with the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) that allows the Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) breaching the public spending ceiling to fund campaign promises intensified and exposed PT internal disputes in recent weeks.
It is consensus in the party that there are problems in the articulation of the proposal, which should start to be discussed in the Senate. The diagnosis, however, divided deputies and senators.
The bench in the Chamber tried to push the beginning of the PEC process to the Lower House last week, displeasing the party’s senators.
In addition, there is dissatisfaction among PT members with the elected senator Wellington Dias (PT-PI). Several coreligionists, privately, blame him for the fact that the PEC has stalled. In some conversations, it is also left to the leader of the PT in the Senate, Paulo Rocha (SHOVEL).
Dias is regarded as one of the most politically able PT members and one of Lula’s trusted names. He was chosen by the president-elect to manage the articulation of the PEC with the help of the vice-president-elect, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB). Despite being a recent PT ally, Alckmin has so far been spared criticism even in private conversations.
The dispute between the benches was explained by Senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA) and by the president of the PT, deputy Gleisi Hoffmann (PR) on Thursday (24.Nov.2022).
In the morning, Wagner charged the indication of a finance minister. He said that the nomination would facilitate the negotiations of the PEC, and that the articulation problem was not just for the PT senators. In the afternoon, Gleisi countered the supporter by attributing the difficulties to lack of political articulation in the Senate.
According to the leader, the text was presented without the elected government still having a strong support base among the senators. In transition, the deputy is the coordinator of the political articulation of the temporary office of the president-elect.
Gleisi and Wagner met with Lula, in São Paulo, on Friday (25.Nov.2022). In addition to discussing details of the text, the meeting also served to try to appease internal tensions.
The new government argues that R$ 198 billion should be removed from the spending ceiling to fund the R$ 600 of the Brazil Aid in 2023 and to adjust the budget for other social spending. They want the validity of the rules to be valid for 4 years.
Centrão leaders, however, have already said that they only accept the approval of the PEC if the text is valid for 1 year and with a value close to R$ 80 billion. Furthermore, the group wants to negotiate directly with Lulawhich will have pen in hand in 2023, not with its allies.
The lack of agreement meant that the official presentation of the PEC was postponed over the last few weeks. Now, the expectation is that the text will be released on Tuesday (29.nov).
charge by ministers
The demand for the appointment of a finance minister, voiced publicly by Jaques Wagner, is almost unanimous within the PT. There is also a demand for the appointment of a minister of political articulation.
Lula, however, does not give any clues about when he will announce the names, not even to his closest allies. With the pressure, the expectation of PT members is that the president-elect will make the nominations next week.
The most quoted name for the main economic folder is the former mayor of São Paulo and former minister Fernando Haddad (PT). Lula nominated him to represent him at an event with financial market operators on Friday (25.Nov). The market, however, did not react very well. Investors assessed that the former minister failed to give clearer signals about spending control. There is still no consolidated name for the political articulation.
Currently, the role falls to the head of the Government Secretariat, linked to the Presidency of the Republic. Lula, however, can assign the role to his Chief of Staff. It is not clear what the design will be in the new management.
In addition to wear and tear among the benches, there is stress among PT deputies. One group wanted to announce support for the re-election of Arthur Lira (PP-AL) as mayor last week. The bench leader, Reginaldo Lopes (MG), however, scheduled the meeting that will hit the hammer for Tuesday (29.nov).
Deputies who would like to announce support earlier claim that, by delaying the announcement, the party has less bargaining power with Lira – seen as an unbeatable candidate.
In addition to not having a name to compete with the current mayor, the need to approve the PEC increased Lira’s power over PT members. The proposal is only approved by Congress with the help of the president of the Chamber. It is he who determines the voting agenda of the Lower House.
The party also had a traumatic experience with the 2015 House elections. Arlindo Chinaglia (PT-SP) ran for president of the House with the support of Dilma Rousseff (PT). lost to Eduardo Cunha (then at the MDB-RJ, today at the PTB), who months later led the impeachment of the former president.
Lula himself, in a meeting with Lira, indicated that he will not put the weight of his government to work for a PT candidate.
#series #internal #stresses #joint #PEC