After meeting with Lula, Lira reaffirms that Congress is conservative

The mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), said this Monday (5) that the National Congress is “majority conservative and is not obliged to vote with the base” of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). The declaration took place after a meeting between the deputy and the PT candidate at the Alvorada Palace.

“The government has victories on agendas that we committed to. The Congress that was elected is not a left-wing progressive. The elected Congress is conservative and reformist. The government needs to mobilize and the articulation needs to be more attentive,” said Lira in an interview with CNN Brazil.

Despite this, Lira said that President Lula is willing to dialogue with other forces in order to “crystallize” his base in the Chamber and Senate. In addition to the meeting with the president of the Chamber, Lula is expected to meet with leaders of the National Congress to hear the demands of the Legislature.

“The same vote that was given to the President of the Republic was given to the deputy and senator in a republican way. Nobody needs to vote with the government without being a base of the government. The president [Lula] he is moving and it is important that he moves, mainly because of the difficulties. Now the government has an exact notion of these difficulties. “, complete Lira.

Lula’s invitation was a nod to the president of the Chamber

Still according to the president of the Chamber, the meeting with Lula took place in an institutional way and served to address issues that need to be voted on in the House. Among them the tax reform, which Lira indicated he intends to approve in the Chamber this semester.

“My conversation was institutional, dealing with macro problems and decisions that need to be taken for votes like the tax reform. I think that after much agony like last week, the government will start to organize itself for this stabilization” , added Lira.

Lira’s meeting with Lula took place days after the Executive clashed with the Chamber over the vote on the Provisional Measure that dealt with the restructuring of the Esplanada dos Ministérios. The president of the Chamber stated that the text was only voted after the government understood that it still does not have a solid base and needs to work to oil the relationship with the parliamentarians.

Lula will meet with leaders of the Chamber and Senate in the Planalto

In another move, President Lula intends to meet biweekly with party leaders from the Chamber and the Senate. The Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, has moved to have this first meeting take place this Monday afternoon at the Planalto Palace.

The model would be a way for the president himself to listen to the demands and get closer to the parliamentarians of both Houses, in a strategy to avoid new crises with Congress. “There is widespread dissatisfaction among deputies and perhaps senators with the government’s lack of political articulation, not one or another minister,” said Lira last week.

Despite having managed to approve the Esplanada MP within the deadline, the assessment within the Planalto is that the final result was defeat. The version approved by the House and Senate dehydrated the Ministries of Environment and Indigenous Peoples, among other changes.

Last Friday (2), during an agenda in São Bernardo do Campo, in São Paulo, Lula attributed the problems with Congress to the low number of deputies in his support base. In addition, he said it was necessary to talk to “those who don’t like us”.

“The entire left has a maximum of 136 votes, if no one is missing. But for us to vote for something simple, we need 257. So, out of 136, make an account there and see how many are missing. So, it’s important that you know what effort to govern. It’s important that you know that it’s not just about winning an election. You win an election and then you have to spend the whole time talking to see if you can get something approved,” Lula said at the time.