Congress returns from recess “revamped”, says leader about PP and Republicans in government

The leader of the government in the Chamber of Deputies, José Guimarães (PT-CE), said this Wednesday morning (19) that the entry of the PP and the Republicans in the Esplanada dos Ministérios is practically certain, with the nomination of André Fufuca (PP -MA) and Silvio Costa Filho (Republicanos-PE) for the parties.

The statement confirmed the content of meetings held by Minister Alexandre Padilha, of Institutional Relations, since the beginning of the week to broaden the base and approve projects of interest to the government with more “peace and tranquility”. The names must still be approved by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), who arrives in Brazil from his trip to Belgium at the end of the afternoon.

Guimarães said that the two names nominated by the PP and the Republicans are already known to Lula and have a historical relationship with the president, but he acknowledged that he will not have the votes of the entire group of subtitles. Despite this, he stated that their entry into the government will ensure less tight voting.

“Congress comes back revamped with the expansion of forces within the government to guarantee the panel [de votações]which is what matters, how many votes the government has”, said the deputy in an interview with GloboNews.

Despite Fufuca’s entry into the government, the national president of the PP, Ciro Nogueira (PI) assured that the party itself will not be part of the government, but that it would not prevent members of the party from being nominated.

According to him, the government went through moments of suffocation in the first semester, which shows the need to articulate to expand the base and guarantee the expected results in Congress. Among the projects that caused tension, said Guimarães, the provisional measure that reorganized the Esplanada ran the risk of not being approved.

Already the approval of the tax reform, at the beginning of the month, cost R$ 8.5 billion in parliamentary amendments paid before and after the vote, confirming the policy of “take it, give it here” denied by Lula and his ministers.

Still according to José Guimarães, other parties that are not part of the government have contributed to the economic projects of the Planalto, such as PSDB, Citizenship and PL. União Brasil, which already has ministries on the Esplanada, recently gained another portfolio, that of Tourism, with the appointment of Celso Sabino – the legend is eyeing others, such as Sport and Caixa Econômica.

“My role is to get votes to guarantee the approval of government matters. No one governs without a parliamentary majority, without sustainability”, added the leader of the government in the Chamber.

Lula should have a meeting with Fufuca and Costa Filho this Thursday (20) and also with the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), later this week. Last week, the petista said that he intends to meet with party leaders on the return of the parliamentary recess, in August, to improve the governing base.