Headbanging in Planalto generated crisis and threatened voting – 07/07/2023 – Politics

The announcement about the change in command of the Ministry of Tourism this Thursday (6) seems to have ended an imbroglio of more than a month, but it was marked by a clash at the Planalto Palace that resulted in a threat in the vote on the Tax Reform .

Minister Paulo Pimenta (Secretary of Communication), for example, gave two different statements on the subject within an hour and a half.

First, he said that Daniela Carneiro would remain in office until the Chamber of Deputies votes on the economic guidelines. Afterwards, he stated that she had already made the ministry available and knew that she would leave the government.

About an hour later, it was up to Minister Alexandre Padilha (Secretary of Institutional Relations) to make the change official. In a note, he said that President Lula (PT) will receive the nomination for the Ministry of Tourism from União Brasil and that Deputy Celso Sabino (União Brasil-PA) will assume the position.

It was the government’s first public confirmation of the change in portfolio.

The clash on the Planalto, however, ended up generating a crisis with part of União Brasil, which threatened the vote on the Tax Reform and, in practice, forced Padilha to announce the name of Sabino. The reform was approved in two rounds by the Chamber.

Shortly after Pimenta’s first speech was made public, União Brasil conveyed to the government its dissatisfaction with the news that there would be no change in Tourism. Afraid that this would disrupt the vote, Planalto members called parliamentarians and acknowledged that there was a communication problem.

Lula wanted to wait for the arrival of Senator Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), who returned from a trip this Thursday night (6th), to make the change in Tourism official.

The confusion generated by the conflicting statements of the Planalto, however, anticipated the announcement because they generated rebellion by a part of the União Brasil in the Chamber headed by Sabino and the president of the party, Luciano Bivar, against the will of Elmar Nascimento, leader of the bench.

The president received Daniela Carneiro and her husband, the mayor of Belford Roxo (RJ), Waguinho, around 5 pm in Planalto.

After the end of the meeting, however, came the news that the minister would remain until the economic votes in the Chamber: Tax Reform, fiscal framework and Carf, the council responsible for analyzing tax conflicts between taxpayers and the government.

“We will conclude this debate on Congressional issues this week and we will resume this discussion on the composition [do governo] and possible changes that may occur in the government as of next week. Therefore, the minister remains at the disposal of the government, performing her function,” Pimenta told journalists at the Planalto Palace.

Afterwards, the minister spoke to journalists again and said that Daniela knew she would have to leave the government, but without saying when.

The news reverberated badly among parliamentarians from União Brasil, the party that asked Daniela to leave, after she asked the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) to leave the party for which she was elected.

The fear was that the government would not be fulfilling the promise of the exchange, and dissatisfaction reached the Institutional Relations Secretariat and Minister Alexandre Padilha.

A wing of the party, then, articulated a note in which it started to defend the postponement of the Tax Reform vote. The text has the signature of 38 deputies, but not Elmar.

Surprised by the note, Elmar and the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), began to call parliamentarians from União Brasil asking what had happened and asking for effort to approve the matter. Some parliamentarians told the Sheet that Bivar did not properly explain the motivation for the letter.

After the note from União Brasil was prepared, Minister Padilha released a statement in which he confirmed the minister’s departure to ensure the agreement to the members of the Union and stifle the crisis.

“The president thanked the minister for the excellent work done for the recovery of tourism in Brazil and for her willingness to continue contributing to the government in Congress, with the protagonism of being the most voted federal deputy in Rio de Janeiro”, said Padilha, in a note .

“President Lula and I will meet with the president and leaders of União Brasil, on a date to be defined tomorrow, to receive the nomination of deputy Celso Sabino, who will lead the Tourism portfolio, continuing the work for the recovery of a such an important sector for the generation of jobs and income in Brazil”, he added.

Now, the Planalto Palace awaits a meeting between party leaders, Lula and Padilha, still without a date set. Alcolumbre, Elmar, Sabino and Bivar must participate in the meeting.

Despite the threat, after confirming that Daniela will step down and Sabino will take over, the Union wing that threatened the tax reform withdrew and decided to support the vote on the text.