Amnesty PEC: Congress discusses changes to wear out – 05/29/2023 – Power

Members of the top of the National Congress began to discuss the softening of the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) that institutes the greatest pardon in history to political parties.

The Amnesty PEC was approved by the Chamber’s Constitution and Justice Committee and now awaits the installation of a special committee to discuss the merits, the last step before the plenary vote.

To be approved in plenary, a PEC needs the support of at least 60% of parliamentarians (308 out of 513 in the Chamber and 49 out of 81 in the Senate), in two rounds of voting in each House. If this occurs, it is enacted and becomes effective, with no possibility of vetoing the Executive Branch.

Among the alterations evaluated are the withdrawal of forgiveness for party irregularities, such as the use of party funds for private purposes, in addition to the establishment of a minimum quota of seats for women in the Legislative, which does not exist today.

The discussions take place after the negative impact of the proposal, which is criticized by several specialists and transparency entities.

The Amnesty PEC was one of the topics discussed at a dinner last week at the house of the leader of the PSD group, Antonio Brito (BA). Among others present, there were ministers of the party, the president of the party, Gilberto Kassab, and the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

On the 16th, the Chamber’s CCJ approved the so-called admissibility of the PEC, with the support of the vast majority of parties, including government leaders, José Guimarães (PT-CE), and opposition leaders, Carlos Jordy (PL-RJ). The proposal received the endorsement of 45 members of the committee, with 10 votes against.

In the session, only deputies Chico Alencar (PSOL-RJ), Sâmia Bomfim (PSOL-SP), Tarcísio Motta (PSOL-RJ), Kim Kataguiri (União Brasil-SP), Adriana Ventura (Novo-SP) and Gilson Marques ( Novo-SC) demonstrated against the proposal in their speeches.

Lula’s PT and Jair Bolsonaro’s PL expressed their support, in the speeches of deputies Gleisi Hoffmann (PT-PR), the party’s national president, and Éder Mauro (PL-PA).

The PEC, in its current version, has only three articles.

The first extends the amnesty to parties that have not met the minimum quota for transferring public funds to women and blacks to the October 2022 dispute.

In elections, most parties failed to meet these quotas. In the party accounts for 2017, the most recent with a judgment concluded, no party allocated the minimum necessary to promote the inclusion of women in politics.

In April 2022, Congress had already approved and enacted a PEC granting amnesty to parties for non-compliance with quotas in previous elections.

The second article establishes that “sanctions of any nature shall not apply, including the return and collection of amounts, fines or suspension of the Party Fund and the Special Campaign Financing Fund, on the rendering of accounts for the financial and electoral period of the political parties that prior to the enactment of this amendment to the Constitution”.

In other words, once the PEC is approved, the analysis by the Electoral Justice of the parties’ accounts regarding the application of public money in their day-to-day activities and in elections would be practically innocuous.

As shown to Sheet, in the last judged party accounts alone, the TSE ordered the return of R$ 40 million to the public coffers. Among other irregularities pointed out is the purchase of a plane and almost four tons of meat by a legend, the extinct Pros (incorporated into Solidarity).

In all, the TSE disapproved 19 of the 2017 party bills and approved the other 16 with reservations.

The third article of the PEC allows parties to receive business money again “to settle debts with suppliers contracted or assumed until August 2015”, when the STF (Federal Supreme Court) prohibited the financing of companies to parties and candidates.

Congress had already pardoned the parties in 2022 for non-compliance with the gender quota in elections and in previous annual exercises, which prevented the TSE from determining the return of tens of millions of reais to public coffers.